Fernhill, West Sussex
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Fernhill is a
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
close to
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...
in West Sussex, England. Its fields and farmhouses formerly straddled the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, but since 1990 (when there were about 60 households) the whole area has been part of the county of West Sussex and the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
of
Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...
. Fernhill is bounded on three sides by motorways and the airport. A fatal aeroplane crash occurred here in 1969.


Location

Fernhill is in the far northeast corner of the borough of Crawley and the far north of the county of West Sussex. The borough and county boundaries run along the M23 motorway, which lies to the north and east. To the west, Balcombe Road (part of the B2036
Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own econ ...
Burgess Hill Burgess Hill () is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. ...
road) separates Fernhill from Gatwick Airport. Antlands Lane (part of the B2037 to
East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...
) leads from
Tinsley Green Tinsley Green is an area in the Borough status in the United Kingdom, Borough of Crawley, one of seven Districts of England, local government districts in the England, English county of West Sussex. Originally a Hamlet (place), hamlet in the Wor ...
to Shipley Bridge and
Burstow Burstow is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. Its largest settlement is Smallfield. Smallfield is ENE of Gatwick Airport and the M23 motorway, southwest of Oxted and east of Horley. Crawley is a near ...
, forming the southern boundary. Peeks Brook Lane runs south–north through the area, and Fernhill Road (formerly Fernhill Lane) runs west–east and connects it to Balcombe Road. Gatwick Airport is to the west, and the town of
Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own econ ...
is the same distance north. Fernhill was originally a hamlet in the parish of
Burstow Burstow is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. Its largest settlement is Smallfield. Smallfield is ENE of Gatwick Airport and the M23 motorway, southwest of Oxted and east of Horley. Crawley is a near ...
in southwest Surrey. Its
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
chapel was recorded in 1911 as one of two in the parish. In 1990, the
Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and po ...
undertook a review of the boundaries of Surrey and West Sussex as part of a study of the boundaries of
non-metropolitan counties A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...
. It received a suggestion from Crawley Borough Council that Fernhill should move into the borough because it "shared a community of interest with rawley and was cut off from the rest of Surrey by the M23 motorway. At the time, the hamlet was part of Burstow parish,
Tandridge District Tandridge is a local government district in east Surrey, England. Its council is based in Oxted, although the largest settlement is Caterham; other notable settlements include Warlingham, Godstone and Lingfield. In mid-2019, the district had a ...
and the county of Surrey; all objected to the proposal, and West Sussex County Council offered no opinion. The Commission agreed with Crawley Borough Council's view that Fernhill's isolation from Surrey meant that "effective and convenient local government" would be better achieved by transferring it to West Sussex. When the proposal was formalised, further objections were raised. Several roads led eastwards beyond the motorway, so isolation was said not be a significant factor; Fernhill would no longer have a parish council to represent it, as Crawley had none; the policing of part of the motorway might be affected; residents were said to wish to remain in Surrey; a transfer to Crawley could encourage expansion of the hamlet; and "close ties" to Burstow and Horley would be affected. The Commission decided that Crawley Borough Council's argument that Fernhill sat most appropriately within Crawley for the purposes of planning and services, and the fact that none of the residents who would be moved made any comment about the plans, overrode the objections, and the boundary was accordingly moved eastwards beyond the motorway to take in the whole area.


Transport

The nearest railway stations are Gatwick Airport and Horley.
Metrobus Metrobus may refer to: Transport services Bus Rapid Transit *MetroBus (Bristol), a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, United Kingdom *Metrobus (Buenos Aires), a bus rapid transit system in Buenos Aires, Argentina *Metrobus (Istanbul), a ...
routes 526 and 527 run hourly in each direction on weekdays and every 90 minutes on Saturdays, providing a service to Tinsley Green, Three Bridges, Crawley town centre,
Crawley Hospital Crawley Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. Since 2006 it has been part of the Sussex Community NHS Trust, which has overall management responsibility. Surrey and Sussex Health ...
, Ifield,
Charlwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately north-west of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Sur ...
,
Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own econ ...
,
Smallfield Burstow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Tandridge (district), Tandridge district of Surrey, England. Its largest settlement is Smallfield. Smallfield is boxing the compass, ENE of Gatwick Airport and the M23 m ...
and Burstow.


Heritage

There are four
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 ...
s in Fernhill, and a further six have been given locally listed status by Crawley Borough Council. Just west of the Balcombe Road, and now within the boundary of Gatwick Airport, are two surviving medieval buildings: Edgeworth House and Wing House. They are attached to each other at right-angles but are of different dates: Edgeworth House (a four-
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...
) is 15th- or early 16th-century, while Wing House dates from the mid-16th century. It has
Charlwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately north-west of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Sur ...
and
Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
stonework, brick, timber framing and a tiled roof. On Donkey Lane, which leads north from Fernhill Road and becomes a footpath, Lilac Cottage and Old Cottage are listed. Lilac Cottage is partly tile-hung and retains its original (18th-century) chimneys, inglenook fireplace and
timber framing Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
. Old Cottage is a similar but older (17th- or early-18th-century) house: it has brickwork, timber framing and exterior tiles on the upper storey. Of the locally listed buildings, Burstow Hall is a mid-19th-century mansion of stone and brick (including some multicoloured glazed brickwork); Gatwick House is a large block of
serviced offices A serviced office is an office or office building that is fully equipped and managed by a facility management company, also known as an office provider, which then rents individual offices or floors to other companies. Serviced offices, also referr ...
which was built in 1876 as a country house and which combines the
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
and Neo-Georgian styles; Poplars is a slightly altered three-bay house of the mid-19th century; Number 1 Pullcotts Farm Cottages has ground-floor brickwork in various colours, tile-hanging above and old
sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...
s; Royal Oak House is a large
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
ed villa of the 1880s; and Touchwood Chapel is the hamlet's former Baptist chapel, built in 1885 and now in residential use.


1969 air crash

On 5 January 1969, a
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...
airliner operated by
Ariana Afghan Airlines Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. () also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan. Founded in 1955, Ariana is state owned and the oldest airline in the country. The company has its main base at Kabul Interna ...
crashed in Fernhill, killing 50 people. It came down in heavy, freezing fog on its approach to Gatwick Airport on a flight from
Kabul International Airport Kabul International Airport () is located in the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of the country's main international airports, capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE-base ...
in Afghanistan. There were 48 fatalities on the aircraft, and two Fernhill residents were killed when it crashed into and destroyed their house, ''Longfield'', on the south side of Fernhill Road. A baby also in the house at the time survived.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * {{coord, 51.155, -0.139, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Areas of Crawley Hamlets in West Sussex