Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey)

Beacon Hill lies principally between two main roads to the north-west of Hindhead: the A287 Haslemere to Farnham road and the Tilford Road, an alternative and more rural route from Hindhead to Farnham via the village of Tilford. The nearest village to the north-west is Churt.

Beacon Hill is so-named because it was originally one of many beacon 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 declared the air to be as pure as that in the Swiss alps.{{cite web|title=History of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Haslemere Design Statement)|url=http://www.haslemere.com/hds/hdss78.pdf|accessdate=16 January 2014}}

The Woodcock Inn served as Beacon Hill's only public house from the early 20th century{{cite web|title=Woodcock Inn, 1922 (Frith: photos and memories)|url=http://www.francisfrith.com/hindhead/photos/woodcock-inn-1922_71770|accessdate=23 February 2014}} until it closed in about 2008 and was subsequently demolished for housing.

File:St. Alban's church, Beacon Hill, Surrey..jpg

• St Alban's Parish Church is a listed building,{{NHLE|num=1272333 |desc=Church of St Alban, Tilford Road |grade=II |access-date=10 June 2022}} is part of the Joint Benefice of Churt (St John's) and Hindhead,{{cite web|title=St Alban's, Hindhead|url=http://stalbanshindhead.org.uk/|accessdate=16 January 2014}} in the Anglican Diocese of Guildford. The church building, replacing a temporary mission church built in 1904, was phased over a number of years, from 1907 (when Hindhead became a separate parish) to 1915.{{cite book|last=Pevsner|first=Sir Nikolaus|title=The Buildings of England: Surrey|year=1982|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Harmondsworth}}
• St Anselm's Roman Catholic Church is in the Catholic Parish of Haslemere, Hindhead and Chiddingfold.{{cite web|title=St Anselm's|url=http://www.stanselmshindhead.co.uk/|accessdate=16 January 2014}} The church was established on its present site in the 1950s.{{cite web|title=St Anselm's History|url=http://www.stanselmshindhead.co.uk/Page2_history.html|accessdate=16 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116183802/http://www.stanselmshindhead.co.uk/Page2_history.html|archivedate=16 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}
• 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.{{cite web |title=Beacon Hill United Reformed Church |url=http://beaconhillurc.co.uk/#/about-the-church/4541399112 |accessdate=28 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418220036/http://beaconhillurc.co.uk |archivedate=18 April 2013 |df=dmy }}

File:The Primary School,Beacon Hill, Surrey..jpg

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.{{cite web|title=Beacon Hill Community Primary: Ofsted report 2013|url=http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/dash.php?urn=124978|accessdate=24 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131110645/http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/dash.php?urn=124978|archive-date=31 January 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Beacon Hill Community Primary School |website=Ofstead |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/124978 |date=31 October 2024|accessdate=19 March 2025}}

Hindhead Scouts{{cite web|title=1st Hindhead Scouts|url=http://www.hindheadscouts.org/|access-date=22 March 2021}} 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.{{cite web|title=Fun day to help build a new Scout Hut|url=http://www.messenger-online.co.uk/news.cfm?id=22089&headline=Fun%20day%20to%20help%20build%20a%20new%20Scout%20hut|accessdate=28 January 2014|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202231908/http://www.messenger-online.co.uk/news.cfm?id=22089&headline=Fun%20day%20to%20help%20build%20a%20new%20Scout%20hut|url-status=dead}}

Hindhead Royal British Legion 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.{{cite web|title=Hindhead Royal British Legion|url=http://www.bhbf.co.uk/Beacon_Hill_Beer_Festival,_Hindhead,_Surrey/HRBL_Club.html|accessdate=7 April 2018}}

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.{{cite web|title=BBC WW2 People's War|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/71/a8917671.shtml|accessdate=28 January 2014}}{{cite web|title=Imperial War Museum: School for evacuees...Marchants Hill|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205201165|accessdate=28 January 2014}} The camp continued as a holiday and adventure venue for city children after the war{{cite web|title=Francis Frith: Marchants Hill Camp circa 1955|url=http://www.francisfrith.com/hindhead/photos/dormitory-marchants-hill-camp-c1955_h86023/#utmcsr=google.co.uk&utmcmd=referral&utmccn=google.co.uk|accessdate=28 January 2014}} and in 2025 was run by the activity holiday company PGL Ltd, on the {{convert|45|acre|ha}} site.{{cite web|title=PGL: Centres and locations|url=http://www.pgl.co.uk/PGLWeb/about-us/what-we-do/Centres-And-Locations.htm|accessdate=28 January 2014}}

File:Hindhead Cricket Club 2014.jpg

The playing fields at Marchants Hill are home to Hindhead Athletic Football Club, Beacon Hill Junior Football Club{{cite web|title=Beacon Hill Junior Football Club|url=https://beaconhilljfc.com/|access-date=22 March 2021}} and Hindhead Cricket Club.{{cite web|title=Hindhead Cricket Club|url=http://www.hindheadcc.co.uk/|accessdate=28 January 2014}} The cricket ground hosted two international women's cricket matches in the 1950s: Molly Hide's XI against Australia Women in 1951{{cite web|title=ME Hide's XI v Australia Women|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/154/154526.html|accessdate=27 September 2014}} and South Women Second XI against New Zealand Women in 1954.{{cite web|title=South Women XI v New Zealand Women|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/154/154547.html|accessdate=27 September 2014}}

Hindhead Golf Course and Club was established in 1904. One of its founders and first president was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who lived at Hindhead at the time. Numerous notable people have been members over the years, including Peter Alliss who lived nearby.

Hindhead Tennis Club's home is at the Royal British Legion Club; the courts have floodlighting.{{cite web|title=Waverley Borough Council: Hindhead Tennis Club|url=http://www.waverley.gov.uk/directory_record/3035/hindhead_tennis_club|accessdate=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226055217/http://www.waverley.gov.uk/directory_record/3035/hindhead_tennis_club|archive-date=26 February 2014|url-status=dead}}

• 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.{{cite web|title=Beacon Hill Beer Festival|url=https://www.hindheadrbl.co.uk/beer-festival |date=2024|accessdate=19 March 2025}}

• Rodney Robert Porter (1917–1985), biochemist, was killed in a road accident near Beacon Hill.Los Angeles Times: 13 September 1985
• Humphrey Trevelyan, Diplomat and writer, was born at the parsonage in Tilford Road.{{cite ODNB |first= Michael T. |last=Thornhill |doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/31773 |title=Trevelyan, Humphrey, Baron Trevelyan}}

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{{Commons category|Beacon Hill, Surrey}}

{{Commons category|Hindhead}}

• [http://www.beacon-hill.surrey.sch.uk/ Beacon Hill School]

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Category:Villages in Surrey

Category:Haslemere