Michael Gaylard Photography

The parish of Chiddingfold has evidence of human presence stretching back to around 4000 BC, when mid-Stone Age flints were left in the area. In Saxon times, the settlement belonged to the Hundred of Godalming, later dividing into the three tithings of Chiddingfold Magna, Pockford (Chiddingfold Parva), and Sittinghurst. The village takes its name from a "fold" or enclosure—the Saxon pattern by which settlements of 100 families sent out freeholders into the woodland to establish their enclosures.

The heart of today's village is a 14th–16th century hamlet centred on the Village Green, whose many listed buildings include The Crown Inn—Grade I listed and said to be one of the oldest inns in England, with records of an earlier "Halle" on the site from 1285 and the earliest reference to the present building from 1383—and St Marys Church, Grade I listed, whose stone nave was built c1190 possibly on the site of a Saxon wooden church of c978 AD.

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Oakhurst Cottage is a tiny 16th or 17th-century timber-framed cottage in the village of Hambledon, Surrey, England, now owned by the National Trust and Grade II listed. Probably built originally as a barn and converted into a dwelling in the 1500s, this humble agricultural labourer's home was lived in continually until 1983—four centuries of uninterrupted occupation—and has remained largely unaltered since the mid-19th century. Restored and furnished to illustrate the daily life of a Victorian-era rural labourer, the cottage offers a rare and intimate glimpse into Surrey's rural past, with its inglenook fireplace, lathe and plaster walls, attic bedrooms, quarry-tiled kitchen, and a compact traditional garden filled with Victorian-era plants. Situated in the heart of Hambledon near the Cricket Green, Oakhurst Cottage is a much-loved part of the village, open to visitors through pre-booked guided tours.

Built: Late 16th to early 17th century (probably originating as a barn)

Listing Status: Grade II listed

Construction: Timber-framed, with colourwashed brick infill and a tiled roof

Original Character: Humble agricultural labourer's dwelling

Occupation: Lived in continually until 1983 (four centuries of occupation)

Given to National Trust: 1954, by the Allfrey sisters

Restoration: Furnished to show rural life as it was in the mid-19th century", "conserved in 2015 and 2022

Location: In the heart of Hambledon village, near the Cricket Green, off the A283

Access: Pre-booked guided tours only (April–October)

Website: National Trust - Oakhurst Cottage

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Oakhurst Cottage dates from the late 16th to early 17th century, and like many domestic buildings of the Weald, it evolved as a product of its surroundings—indeed, it was probably not intended for habitation at all, but built as a barn, before being converted into a cottage sometime in the 1500s. From then until 1983, the cottage was lived in continually—four centuries of uninterrupted occupation—remaining essentially unaltered since the mid-19th century, a survival of a kind that is almost unknown elsewhere in Surrey.

The cottage's modern story belongs to the Allfrey sisters, who acquired it in 1937 as part of a portfolio of cottages in Hambledon—bought deliberately to save their tenants from eviction and allow them to remain in their homes. In 1954, the sisters passed this portfolio to the National Trust on the condition that the cottages were "not let to well-to-do people"—a remarkable act of rural social conscience. Oakhurst Cottage itself was lived in by their tenants, Mr and Mrs (Elsie and Ted) Jeffery, until Ted's death in 1983, after which the National Trust restored and furnished the cottage to illustrate the dwelling of a labourer in the Victorian era.

Since then, the cottage has been cared for as a living document of rural life. In 2015, it underwent extensive conservation work—repairs to the roof structure, rafters, ceiling joists, and dormer window using traditional materials such as lime plaster and riven lathes—made possible by a generous donation from the West Surrey National Trust Centre & Association and the support of the Oakhurst Cottage Advisory Committee and Hambledon Parish Council. In 2022, further restoration works repaired the foundations following subsidence and reinforced the upper floor. The cottage sits in the heart of the village of Hambledon and, thanks to parishioners and local volunteers, remains open to the public—a much-loved part of the community.