England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ewhurst St Peter & St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Ewhurst lies in the extreme south of Surrey forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Sussex. Ewhurst is located roughly 11 miles southeast of the town of Guildford and sits on the meandering B2127 road which links Cranleigh with Forest Green. The B2127 performs an abrupt right-angled bend at the north of Ewhurst; previously running from east to west it turns sharply south, the course of the B-road determines the shape of the village which is largely triangular, after the B2127 performs a second right-angled bend to resume its westerly course the village extends south to Ewhurst Green. Ewhurst sits in Surrey's share of The Weald which traditionally has poor soils and very little arable agriculture, Ewhurst is an exception to this rule as early gazetteers estimated 60% of the parish acreage as set to arable, almost half of the remainder was heath and woodland which would have been managed for their products, a small area of pasture completed the farming scene. Ewhurst is drained initially southwards and then west by small streams which make their way to the course of the River Wey, the Wey flows back north, breaches the North Downs and eventually meet the Thames from where the water now heads east passing through the capital to the North Sea. Ewhurst is sited 100 metres above the sea but is overlooked from the north by the hills of the High Weald, Pitch Hill (257 metres) and Holmbury Hill (261 metres) dominate the northern skyline and are covered in thick plantation forestry. Like most Wealden parishes Ewhurst covered an extensive area of close to 5,000 acres, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 950 parishioners. Once again like most Wealden parishes Ewhurst is not mentioned in Domesday Book which has scant coverage in this former Royal Hunting Forest.

The Church

St Peter & St Paul's church stands on the eastern side of the B2127 as it pursues its short north to south course through the village, the church stands opposite the village school. The church met with a major disaster in 1838 when the original central tower fell taking with it the northern transept and chancel, these parts of the church then rebuilt. The nave, which survived that catastrophe, is the original Norman 12th century creation, albeit its windows have been renewed. There are hints in the fabric that some areas may even be earlier than the 12th century with Saxon origins still debated. Whilst the northern transept is Victorian its southern equivalent also survived and is a product of the 13th century Early English Gothic era as are the tower arches remaining from the original version. Also medieval but later is the wooden western porch which Pevsner places into the 15th century bases upon its Perpendicular styling. A local architect was appointed to oversee the reconstruction of the lost areas of the church and has done a magically effective job, the new tower with its splay-footed spire is true to the Norman style and both chancel & northern transept were rebuilt in a sympathetic manner to fit the overall composition. The entrance to the churchyard sits behind the village's war memorial where a small parking space may be found. A few trees sit around the church limiting the views which are available but enough remain for the photographer to adequately record this picturesque rural church.