Beacon Hill, while administratively and ecclesiastically part of

Hindhead Hindhead is a village in the Waverley, Surrey, Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England. It is the highest village in the county and its buildings are between and above sea level. The village forms part of the Haslemere parish. Situ ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, is a discrete settlement with its own history, amenities and character. It lies in the southwest corner of Surrey on the A287 road between the towns of

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

and

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

. The village began to be developed in the 19th century. Beacon Hill has three churches, a primary school, a shopping area and a range of sporting facilities and activities.

Geography

Beacon Hill lies principally between two main roads to the north-west of Hindhead: the A287

road and the Tilford Road, an alternative and more rural route from Hindhead to Farnham via the village of

Tilford Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...

. The nearest village to the north-west is Churt.

History

Beacon Hill is so-named because it was originally one of many

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

sites across England. The area began to be settled in the 19th century when people who could afford it built houses there to take advantage of the clean environment.

John Tyndall John Tyndall (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was an Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air ...

declared the air to be as pure as that in the Swiss alps. The ''Woodcock Inn'' served as Beacon Hill's only public house from the early 20th century until it closed in about 2008 and was subsequently demolished for housing.

Amenities

Worship

*St Alban's Parish Church is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, is part of the Joint Benefice of Churt (St John's) and Hindhead, in the Anglican

Diocese of Guildford __NOTOC__ The Diocese of Guildford is a Church of England diocese covering eight and half of the eleven districts in Surrey, much of north-east Hampshire and a parish in Greater London. The cathedral is Guildford Cathedral and the bishop is the ...

. The church building, replacing a temporary mission church built in 1904, was phased over a number of years, from 1907 (when

became a separate parish) to 1915. *St Anselm's Roman Catholic Church is in the Catholic Parish of Haslemere, Hindhead and Chiddingfold. The church was established on its present site in the 1950s. *United Reformed Church (formerly Beacon Hill Congregational Church) was, in 1905, the first church to be built in Beacon Hill; it was built by London developer John Grover. Major refurbishment was carried out post-2005 to include meeting rooms and ''The Hub'' Coffee Bar incorporating computer, printing and wi-fi facilities.

Education

Beacon Hill Community Primary School is a secular school occupying two sites in the village with 206 pupils aged 4 to 11 in 2023. In 2024 it became an

academy school An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. 80% ...

Scouting

Hindhead Scouts and Guides for many years met in a hut in Cricket Close built in about 1923. In 2013 efforts were begun to raise funds for a new building with an estimated cost of £50,000.

Royal British Legion Club

Hindhead

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

Club has stood in Beacon Hill Road since the early 20th century, hosts numerous events throughout the year and has sport and leisure facilities including a floodlit tennis court, bowls, darts and snooker.

Marchants Hill

Marchants Hill camp, built in 1939 by the National Camps Corporation, was used in World War 2 to accommodate child evacuees from East Ham in London. The camp continued as a holiday and adventure venue for city children after the war and in 2025 was run by the activity holiday company PGL Ltd, on the site.

Sport

The playing fields at Marchants Hill are home to Hindhead Athletic Football Club, Beacon Hill Junior Football Club and Hindhead Cricket Club. The cricket ground hosted two international

women's cricket Women's cricket is the team sport of cricket when played by woman, women. Its Laws of cricket, rules are almost identical to those in the game played by men, the main change being the use of a smaller cricket ball, ball. Women's cricket is b ...

matches in the 1950s:

Molly Hide Mary Edith "Molly" Hide (24 October 1913 – September 10, 1995) was an English cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and right-arm medium bowler. She appeared in 15 Test matches for England between 1934 and 1954. She was one of the ...

's XI against Australia Women in 1951 and South Women Second XI against New Zealand Women in 1954. Hindhead Golf Course and Club was established in 1904. One of its founders and first president was Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

who lived at Hindhead at the time. Numerous notable people have been members over the years, including

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice o ...

who lived nearby. Hindhead Tennis Club's home is at the Royal British Legion Club; the courts have floodlighting.

Shops and events

*Shopping centre. The principal locality for shops is Beacon Hill Road. *Beacon Hill Beer Festival is held over 2 days in May at Hindhead Royal British Legion Club in Beacon Hill Road; 2024 was its 20th year.

Notable people

* Rodney Robert Porter (1917–1985), biochemist, was killed in a road accident near Beacon Hill.Los Angeles Times: 13 September 1985 *

Humphrey Trevelyan Humphrey Trevelyan, Baron Trevelyan, (27 November 1905 – 9 February 1985) was a British colonial administrator, diplomat and writer. Having begun his career in the Indian Civil Service and Indian Political Service, he transferred to HM Diplo ...

, Diplomat and writer, was born at the parsonage in Tilford Road.

References

External links

Beacon Hill School
{{authority control Villages in Surrey Haslemere