Haslemere
Encyclopedia
Haslemere is a town in Surrey
, England
, close to the border with both Hampshire
and West Sussex
. The major road between London
and Portsmouth
, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey
to the south. Haslemere is approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) south-west of Guildford
.
Haslemere is surrounded by hills, with Blackdown
at 920 feet (280.4 m) to the south and Gibbet Hill
at 894 feet (272.5 m) to the north. The latter was the site of executions in past centuries. Many of those hanged there were highwaymen, because the roads around Haslemere, particularly alongside the nearby Devil's Punch Bowl
, were notoriously dangerous. Today, much of the heath
land and woodland is owned and protected by the National Trust
, and has become a popular attraction for walkers.
The town also marks the western end of the Greensand Way
footpath which extends for 110 miles (177 km) to Hamstreet
in Kent
, and is one end of the Serpent Trail
.
Haslemere is the most southerly town in Surrey.
trees standing beside a mere (lake)
. The lake does not exist today, but there is a natural spring in West Street which could have provided its source. In the 14th century, Haste Hill
, also called East Hill, was the main settlement at Haslemere and there may have been a church as there were references on the site to "Churchliten field" and the "Old church-yard" of Haslemere Haslemere was granted a charter
by Richard II
in 1394. This right was confirmed by a new charter issued by Elizabeth I
in 1596. Today, this special status is celebrated with the Charter fair
, held once every two years in the High Street. There is a bust of Elizabeth I
in the newly developed Charter Walk, linking West Street with the car park alongside Waitrose
.
The town was one of the rotten borough
s, but recovered with the construction of the Portsmouth Direct Line
, which connected Haslemere with London Waterloo
and Portsmouth Harbour railway station
s. The town became a fashionable place to live and continues to be a popular commuter town, still served by Haslemere railway station
.
St Bartholomew's Church was originally a chapel of ease for Chiddingfold
, and probably dates from no earlier than the 16th century. It was rebuilt in 1871. The bell tower is the only remaining part of the original building. The church contains memorials to many of the most prominent local residents, including Alfred Lord Tennyson
, who lived south of Haslemere at Aldworth House and is commemorated in one of the stained glass windows, featuring Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail
.
Haslemere museum is at the northern end of the High Street. It was established by eminent surgeon Sir Jonathan Hutchinson
in 1888 to provide educational opportunities to local people, and moved to its present location in 1926 – a house with a Georgian
façade, but partly dating back to the 16th century. The museum has a permanent natural history collection as well as hosting talks from both local and national figures of interest.
opened in the town centre replacing the previous Somerfield
supermarket.
Haslemere has a concert hall known as Haslemere Hall. Located on Bridge Road, just off West Street, the hall can seat 340 people and is used regularly as a theatre, a concert venue and as a cinema. Performances are held by local theatre groups including The Haslemere Thespians, The Haslemere Theatrical Society and the Haslemere Players. Haslemere Symphony Orchestra and Chorus also hold performances and there are popular music concerts. Films are shown shortly after their general release.
To the west of the High Street, separated from it by the railway station is an area known as Wey Hill. Here, there are further banks, public houses, shops (again, mostly independent), restaurants and takeaways. The town library
is in Wey Hill and so are two further supermarkets, a Tesco
and a Co-Op.
). The Herons facilities include a 25m swimming pool, children's pool, jacuzzi, hot-tub, sauna, steam room, a fitness suite, squash courts, tennis courts, a skate-park and an outdoor basketball court. The Woolmer Hill sports ground has a clubhouse that is home to a number of local teams and the facilities include four rugby pitches, two football pitches, and two artificial hockey pitches. The senior Haslemere RFC team plays in the Surrey Leagues.
, Grayswood
and Hindhead
) until 1974, when the area became part of the new Waverley District Council area. Haslemere, including its satellite settlements, retains a Town Council with lesser powers. The two leading political parties in Haslemere are the Conservative
and Liberal Democrat
parties.
for a term of one year.
, musician and instrument maker, was born in France in 1858, and it was his family who revived the descant recorder
and began the revival of many other instruments of early music
, at the very beginning of the revival of historically informed performance
which came to fruition in the late 20th century. The family settled in Haslemere and his son, Carl Dolmetsch, took over the business. The family firm still manufacture viol
s, recorders and harpsichord
s today. Their presence in the town inspired the International Dolmetsch Early Music Festival held every year in the town.
Haslemere’s Member of Parliament
(MP) from 1722 to 1754 was General James Oglethorpe, who founded the Colony of Georgia
in British North America
. More recently, Neil Drysdale
, an American based thoroughbred
horse trainer
was born here in 1947.
Other notable inhabitants include John Tyndall
(born 1820 – died 1893, buried in St. Bartholemews, Haslemere), eminent physicist, mountaineer and science educator, who first established the radiative properties of various greenhouse gases, and who built a retirement home near Haslemere in 1885.
Arnold Dolmetsch
, (born 1858 – died 1940), a French
-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England, established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere. Sir Robert Hunter, one of the founders of the National Trust
, lived in Three Gates Lane between 1883–1913. Rachel Portman
, an Academy Award-winning composer best known for film music, was born in Haslemere.
Axel Haig
, architect and illustrator of the Victorian Gothic Revival, lived and worked in Haslemere from the 1890s until his death. He constructed a house for himself, Grayshurst, and designed All Saints Church, Grayswood
.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson lived and worked at Aldworth House, Haslemere, for much of his later life, dying there in 1892. Tennyson spent much of his time walking around Blackdown in Haslemere and famously sat at 'Temple of The Winds' in Blackdown.
Horb am Neckar
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, close to the border with both Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. The major road between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey
River Wey
The River Wey in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is a tributary of the River Thames with two separate branches which join at Tilford. The source of the north branch is at Alton, Hampshire and of the south branch at both Blackdown south of Haslemere, and also close to Gibbet Hill, near Hindhead...
to the south. Haslemere is approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) south-west of Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
.
Haslemere is surrounded by hills, with Blackdown
Blackdown, Sussex
Blackdown, or Black Down, is the highest hill in the historic county of Sussex, at 280 metres , and is second only to Leith Hill in southeastern England....
at 920 feet (280.4 m) to the south and Gibbet Hill
Gibbet Hill, Hindhead
Gibbet Hill, at Hindhead, Surrey, is a hill above the Devil's Punch Bowl, not far from the A3 London to Portsmouth road in England. It is the second highest point in Surrey after Leith Hill....
at 894 feet (272.5 m) to the north. The latter was the site of executions in past centuries. Many of those hanged there were highwaymen, because the roads around Haslemere, particularly alongside the nearby Devil's Punch Bowl
Devil's Punch Bowl
The Devil's Punch Bowl is a large natural amphitheatre and beauty spot near Hindhead, Surrey, in England, and is the source of many stories about the area. The London to Portsmouth road used to climb round its side, but this is now closed due to the Hindhead Tunnel opening on the 27th July 2011...
, were notoriously dangerous. Today, much of the heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
land and woodland is owned and protected by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, and has become a popular attraction for walkers.
The town also marks the western end of the Greensand Way
Greensand Way
The Greensand Way is long distance walk of in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and alongside fruit orchards and hop farms in Kent and links...
footpath which extends for 110 miles (177 km) to Hamstreet
Hamstreet
Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England.The village is located some 6 miles south of Ashford on the A2070, the main road between Ashford and Hastings...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and is one end of the Serpent Trail
The Serpent Trail
The Serpent Trail is a 64 mile long distance footpath. It runs from Haslemere to Petersfield by a circuitous route and is designed to join up the many heathland areas on greensand in the western Weald...
.
Haslemere is the most southerly town in Surrey.
History
The earliest record of Haslemere was in 1221 (when it was spelt Haselmere). The name describes hazelHazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
trees standing beside a mere (lake)
Mere (lake)
Mere in English refers to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, e.g. Martin Mere. A significant effect of its shallow depth is that for all or most of the time, it has no thermocline.- Etymology :...
. The lake does not exist today, but there is a natural spring in West Street which could have provided its source. In the 14th century, Haste Hill
Haste Hill
Haste Hill is a hill near Haslemere, Surrey in England which was probably the original settlement of the town of Haslemere. It was used as the site of a semaphore station in the nineteenth century....
, also called East Hill, was the main settlement at Haslemere and there may have been a church as there were references on the site to "Churchliten field" and the "Old church-yard" of Haslemere Haslemere was granted a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
by Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
in 1394. This right was confirmed by a new charter issued by Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
in 1596. Today, this special status is celebrated with the Charter fair
Charter fair
A charter fair in England is a street fair or market which was established by Royal Charter. Many charter fairs date back to the Middle Ages, with their heyday occurring during the 13th century...
, held once every two years in the High Street. There is a bust of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
in the newly developed Charter Walk, linking West Street with the car park alongside Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
.
The town was one of the rotten borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
s, but recovered with the construction of the Portsmouth Direct Line
Portsmouth Direct Line
The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...
, which connected Haslemere with London Waterloo
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
and Portsmouth Harbour railway station
Portsmouth Harbour railway station
Portsmouth Harbour railway station is a railway station in Portsmouth, England. It is situated beside Gunwharf Quays in the city's harbour, and is an important transport terminal, with a bus interchange and ferry services to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. The station currently has four platforms:...
s. The town became a fashionable place to live and continues to be a popular commuter town, still served by Haslemere railway station
Haslemere railway station
Haslemere railway station is a busy stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, serving the town of Haslemere, Surrey.The large car park and industrial estate were originally large goods sidings. Platform 3 is an addition to the original structure, built in 1938 when the line was electrified...
.
St Bartholomew's Church was originally a chapel of ease for Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the heart of The Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 between Milford and Petworth...
, and probably dates from no earlier than the 16th century. It was rebuilt in 1871. The bell tower is the only remaining part of the original building. The church contains memorials to many of the most prominent local residents, including Alfred Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
, who lived south of Haslemere at Aldworth House and is commemorated in one of the stained glass windows, featuring Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
.
Haslemere museum is at the northern end of the High Street. It was established by eminent surgeon Sir Jonathan Hutchinson
Jonathan Hutchinson
Sir Jonathan Hutchinson , was an English surgeon, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, venereologist and pathologist.-Life:He was born in Selby, Yorkshire, England of Quaker parents and educated in the local school...
in 1888 to provide educational opportunities to local people, and moved to its present location in 1926 – a house with a Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
façade, but partly dating back to the 16th century. The museum has a permanent natural history collection as well as hosting talks from both local and national figures of interest.
Haslemere Charter Fair
In 1397 Richard II and the Bishop of Salisbury confirmed an order dated the 29th April 1221 allowing an annual fair to be held in the town. The first ever recorded fair was held in the year 1394 and the latest to date was held 3 May 2010. It ceased to be a yearly event some time ago, but was reinstated in 1984 and now runs every two years.Today
The High Street is wide because of its use as a Victorian cattle market, and is at the heart of Haslemere, with the Town Hall standing at its southern end. There are two public houses: The White Horse and The Swan Inn. Along the High Street, West Street and Charter Walk are a mix of shops (mostly independent), restaurants, cafes, banks and estate agents. In 2009 a WaitroseWaitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
opened in the town centre replacing the previous Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
supermarket.
Haslemere has a concert hall known as Haslemere Hall. Located on Bridge Road, just off West Street, the hall can seat 340 people and is used regularly as a theatre, a concert venue and as a cinema. Performances are held by local theatre groups including The Haslemere Thespians, The Haslemere Theatrical Society and the Haslemere Players. Haslemere Symphony Orchestra and Chorus also hold performances and there are popular music concerts. Films are shown shortly after their general release.
To the west of the High Street, separated from it by the railway station is an area known as Wey Hill. Here, there are further banks, public houses, shops (again, mostly independent), restaurants and takeaways. The town library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
is in Wey Hill and so are two further supermarkets, a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and a Co-Op.
Sport and leisure
The Herons Leisure Centre, on King's Road, replaced the leisure centre previously at Lion Green in the 1990s (now the site of TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
). The Herons facilities include a 25m swimming pool, children's pool, jacuzzi, hot-tub, sauna, steam room, a fitness suite, squash courts, tennis courts, a skate-park and an outdoor basketball court. The Woolmer Hill sports ground has a clubhouse that is home to a number of local teams and the facilities include four rugby pitches, two football pitches, and two artificial hockey pitches. The senior Haslemere RFC team plays in the Surrey Leagues.
Politics
Haslemere had an Urban District Council (including the villages of ShottermillShottermill
Shottermill is a village in Surrey, England near Haslemere. The village is part of the census area Linchmere which has a population of 2,225.George Eliot, novelist, had a cottage on Shottermill Common, where she wrote most of Middlemarch....
, Grayswood
Grayswood
Grayswood is a small village to the North of Haslemere and to the west of Witley, Surrey.In 1894, Alfred Hugh Harman moved to Grayswood and in 1900 he offered to finance a church in Grayswood on land given by Lord Derby, on condition that a parish was created. The new parish of Grayswood was formed...
and Hindhead
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England, about 11 miles south-west of Guildford. Neighbouring settlements include Haslemere, Grayshott and Beacon Hill. Hindhead is the highest village in Surrey...
) until 1974, when the area became part of the new Waverley District Council area. Haslemere, including its satellite settlements, retains a Town Council with lesser powers. The two leading political parties in Haslemere are the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
parties.
Mayor
The council elects a ceremonial mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
for a term of one year.
- 1976–78 Bob Bleach
- 1978–79 John Bowing
- 1993–94 James Mackie
- 1999–00 Patricia Hills
- 2005–06 Michael Dover
- 2007–08 Stephen Mulliner
- 2008–09 William King
- 2009–10 Melanie Odell
- 2010–11 Melanie Odell
- 2011–12 Jim Edwards
Dolmetsch Early Music Festival
The town is significant musically, and largely through the contribution of an immigrant family: Arnold DolmetschArnold Dolmetsch
Arnold Dolmetsch , was a French-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England and established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere, Surrey...
, musician and instrument maker, was born in France in 1858, and it was his family who revived the descant recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
and began the revival of many other instruments of early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
, at the very beginning of the revival of historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
which came to fruition in the late 20th century. The family settled in Haslemere and his son, Carl Dolmetsch, took over the business. The family firm still manufacture viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
s, recorders and harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
s today. Their presence in the town inspired the International Dolmetsch Early Music Festival held every year in the town.
Notable inhabitants
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) from 1722 to 1754 was General James Oglethorpe, who founded the Colony of Georgia
Province of Georgia
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
in British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
. More recently, Neil Drysdale
Neil Drysdale
Neil D. Drysdale is an American based thoroughbred race horse trainer.Based in Playa Del Rey, California, he has won two Triple Crown races - the Belmont Stakes with A.P. Indy in 1992 and the Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000...
, an American based thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
was born here in 1947.
Other notable inhabitants include John Tyndall
John Tyndall
John Tyndall FRS was a prominent Irish 19th century physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he studied thermal radiation, and produced a number of discoveries about processes in the atmosphere...
(born 1820 – died 1893, buried in St. Bartholemews, Haslemere), eminent physicist, mountaineer and science educator, who first established the radiative properties of various greenhouse gases, and who built a retirement home near Haslemere in 1885.
Arnold Dolmetsch
Arnold Dolmetsch
Arnold Dolmetsch , was a French-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England and established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere, Surrey...
, (born 1858 – died 1940), a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England, established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere. Sir Robert Hunter, one of the founders of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, lived in Three Gates Lane between 1883–1913. Rachel Portman
Rachel Portman
Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...
, an Academy Award-winning composer best known for film music, was born in Haslemere.
Axel Haig
Axel Haig
Axel Haig was a Swedish-born artist and illustrator. His paintings, illustrations and etchings, undertaken for himself and on behalf of many of the foremost architects of the Victorian period made him "the Piranesi of the Gothic Revival."...
, architect and illustrator of the Victorian Gothic Revival, lived and worked in Haslemere from the 1890s until his death. He constructed a house for himself, Grayshurst, and designed All Saints Church, Grayswood
Grayswood
Grayswood is a small village to the North of Haslemere and to the west of Witley, Surrey.In 1894, Alfred Hugh Harman moved to Grayswood and in 1900 he offered to finance a church in Grayswood on land given by Lord Derby, on condition that a parish was created. The new parish of Grayswood was formed...
.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson lived and worked at Aldworth House, Haslemere, for much of his later life, dying there in 1892. Tennyson spent much of his time walking around Blackdown in Haslemere and famously sat at 'Temple of The Winds' in Blackdown.
Twinning
Haslemere has embraced the European project through its twinning: BernayBernay, Eure
Bernay is a commune in the west of the Eure department about fifty km from Évreux in northern France. The city is in the Pays d'Ouche and the Lieuvin...
Horb am Neckar
Horb am Neckar
Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, between Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east . It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom about 6,000 live in the main town of Horb, and the remainder in 18 associated...