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In 1975, Margie Crawfurd and Georgina Harvey held an art exhibition at Thursley Village Hall as charity benefit. It was so popular that they continued to hold it annually for up to two weeks at a time until 1984. The exhibition consisted of work by artists and craftsmen from all over England, the large majority of whom were professionals. Over the years they managed to attract many leading figures in the arts and crafts, and as a consequence visitors to the exhibition came from far afield. We asked Georgina Harvey for her recollections and in February 2025 she wrote: The Thursley Exhibition began in 1975 as a fund raiser for the Thursley Conservative Association.   The idea was to get anyone in the village who had ever made, knitted, spun, sewn, weaved, carved, forged, thrown, blown, drawn, painted or whatever to show off their goods and skills.   The designated team consisted of artist Ros Kentish, Margie Crawfurd, Marion O’Brien & myself with Robert Tann being in charge of all things financial.  The Village Hall would be rented for 10 days at the end of September and a raffle and wine bar would cover expenses.    All committee members donated prizes and also helped man the hall during opening times.    The exhibition was open to anyone willing to pay the 10p entrance fee on Thursday & Friday evening and all day on the Saturday.   Sunday was the day to collect belongings or purchases and clean up the Hall. The exhibition seemed to grow exponentially and by the fourth year the political association was becoming a problem for some of the Artist and Craftsmen who were no longer locals.   For the next six years we had a keen viewing & spending public and exhibitors, some of which were more used to showing in London Galleries, still eager to show their work in our rural countryside.   The numbers and values increased and The Thursley Village Hall became a veritable hub of excellence in the regional autumn arts calendar.   Our Competition Judges were distinguished members of the Arts Scene and gave us credentials beyond our expectations.    It was time for a change.     For ten years The Thursley Exhibition had been able to have exclusive use of the Village Hall (which by 1984 had increased from 5 to 45 days).   A Nursery School wanted a home and 41 years later there is still one there. Artists showing their art over the years included: Nicholas Dimbleby - sculptor Mary Fedden - painter Paul Gunn - painter Ken Howard - oils John Makepiece - furniture Susan May - Jeweller Lorne McKean - bronze sculptures Bernard Myers - printmaker Charles Normandale - iron gate William Pye - a sculptor known particularly for his water sculptures Guy Taplin - driftwood birds Carel Weight - oils Mary Wondrausch - pottery Along with: Thursley's very own residents Salli Tomlinson (artist) and Peter Hanauer (handblown glass) An example of Salli's work: a musical artwork that opens up and reveals boxes within which also open and play music: painted on boards and approximately 1M x 1M Examples of Pete Hanauer's glass blowing which are exhibited in the V & A Museum Robert Tann, Margie Crawfurd, Alice Harvey and Georgie Harvey It reached national prominence in 1982 when it was covered by The Field, and this is an extract from their piece: Art and Craft Ascending The Rise and Rise of a Village Exhibition in Surrey. The Thursley Village Exhibition is now seven years old. It was started as a charity benefit and grew into an informal showcase for artists and craftsmen all over the south of England. Its stature is now such that it can shake hands on equal terms with established galleries. The setting is a Victorian hall in Thursley, a Surrey village which was once a centre of iron making and where one can still see the iron pits and hammer ponds. Nearly 200 paintings and sculptures by 50 artists as well as furniture, silver, glass, ceramics and bookbinding will be exhibited from 25 September – 3 October. Among the equestrian artists is Juliet Jeffrey who is showing a hunting scene from an unusual angle. “It was my own first view of the hunt, looking through the horses’ legs with the hounds bounding in. When they set off it becomes a blur with the flurry of hounds and horses coming and coming and it is this I have tried to capture”. Her other paintings depict Appleby Horse Fair, the big gypsy fair held every June, and one of her favourite subjects – pony sales at which the groups of ponies provide a very paintable series of patterns. Juliet Jeffrey has also illustrated several books including one of Gypsy Poems and Ballads. For some years she was married to Peter Ingram, one of the five gypsy waggon builders in the country and has painted a considerable oeuvre of gypsy life in a style which is an interesting blend of realism with abstract undertones. Paintings of people with their favourite horses and other animals, once the mainstay of the itinerant artist, is again becoming a popular art form. The resurgence of interest of this type of portraiture takes the equestrian artist Susie Whitcombe as far as Australia where she goes to paint animals, for some of the big livestock owners. Miss Whitcombe’s oil on canvas Summer Afternoon, Frensham, in this exhibition depicts three gleaming coated ponies reflected in the limpid waters of a large pond framed in trees and bushes (most likely Frensham Great or Little Pond – Ed). Earlier, in 1980, a press release from the exhibition organiser’s read: For the last six years the Thursley Exhibition has encouraged local artists to exhibit their work. During this period, the organisers have steadily improved the standard of work submitted, kept overheads down and prices low. This year in a bold step to raise the quality again, the organisers have invited a number of artists/craftsmen, who, whilst having local connections, exhibit widely. William Pye is one of our country’s leading sculptors. He will exhibit a stainless-steel work in the garden and his” Californian Bronzes” in the hall. John Donald is designing a collection of ten pieces of jewellery especially for this exhibition. Faith Shannon, from Puttenham, who has just been awarded an Arts Council grant, will exhibit a book she has bound, and her husband, Sandy Mackilligan, a piece of furniture. Lorne Mackean, whose bronzes are in the royal collection (seen in the forefront of the photographs below – Ed) , has something at the foundry for us and George Taylor, one of Edward Barnsley’s protegees, will exhibit some wood carvings. From Thursley itself we have Peter Hanauer’s glass bowl, Salli Tomlinson’s “Companions”, as seen on television recently, and the work of the Thursley weavers. Among our favourites at the Royal Academy this summer were Joyce O’Shea, from Godalming, Christopher Harrison from Cranleigh and Cavendish Morton from the Isle of Wight. All will be showing at the exhibition. Introductory page and frontispiece for the 1984 exhibition, the last to be held 1983 Unknown publication 1982 The Field Magazine, 1982 1981 1980 The Herald, Friday, October 3rd, 1980 1979

Photographs, please! The central focus for the year was the Jubilee weekend in June 2002 which began with a classical music concert in the gardens at Buckingham Palace. There was a Jubilee Church Service at St George's Chapel in Windsor and a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral which followed a Ceremonial Procession from Buckingham Palace. Events culminated in a pop concert at Buckingham Palace with performers including Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Elton John and Shirley Bassey. The evening ended with a spectacular firework display and The Queen lighting the National Beacon, the last in a string of 2,006 beacons which had been lit in a chain across the Commonwealth. It was much more difficult to track down much information on how the Golden Jubilee was celebrated in Thursley despite it being only twenty-two years ago. It was noted “That on Saturday the 1st June, there will be a Thursley Village party – a pig roast, jazz and fun for all the family in the Village Hall”. And so, it was to be. A fantastic whole village feast was prepared. Long tables were set up, bunting was hung and young and old enjoyed a day of sunshine, celebrations and commemorations for our dearly loved Queen.

6 February 2017 marked 65 years since The Queen acceded to the throne, becoming the first British Monarch to mark their Sapphire Jubilee. To coincide with the occasion Buckingham Palace re-released a photograph of Her Majesty taken by David Bailey in 2014. In the photograph, The Queen is wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947.

1902 January 1902 1907 1909 1908 1916 January 1960 This 16pp magazine can be downloaded below: April 1981

The country and Thursley turned out in force! The village's celebrations were many and varied. There was a classic car and tractor show: Camilla Daubeney's Coffee Pod did a roaring trade James Maclean generously provided a HUGE digger in which you had to pick up and egg and put it in a frying pan!: A game of cricket, of course: A huge hog-roast at the Three Horseshoes And a Tug-o-War! Here is another set of wonderful photographs by Andrew Kaplanovsk

The Diamond Jubilee in 2012 celebrated the 60 years since the accession and was marked with a spectacular central weekend and a series of regional tours throughout the UK and Commonwealth. Photograph from The New York Times The central weekend began with The Queen’s visit to the Epsom Derby on the Saturday. On the Sunday, ‘Big Jubilee Lunches’ were held across the UK: building on the already popular ‘Big Lunch’ initiative, people were encouraged to share lunch with neighbours and friends as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant also took place on the Sunday, with up to 1,000 boats assembled on the Thames from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh travelled in the Royal Barge which formed the centrepiece of the flotilla. On the Monday, a host of famous faces came together to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace for a concert organised by Take That singer and songwriter Gary Barlow for the BBC. Performers included Will.i.am, Stevie Wonder, Grace Jones and Kylie Minogue. Following the concert, The Queen lit the National Beacon: one of a network of 2,012 Beacons which were lit by communities and individuals throughout the UK, Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Commonwealth. In Thursley, as is tradition now, again a large marquee was erected in the garden of the village hall and a feast of pig roast was served to all villagers:

The Village Hall was open from 10am to 4pm for visitors to view the fascinating memorabilia, read the villagers' stories and remember the lives of all who lived through the war years at home and overseas. Later there was a dinner in the Village Hall (photographs courtesy Valérie Ferris)

Tuesday 1st October 2019 On their first visit to the UK, The American Lutyens Trust selected Thursley, where Lutyens grew up, to start their tour and view his early architectural work. Many were architects in their own right and were enchanted by both the village and its hospitality. Coffee was served in Sallie Roles barn followed by a walk through the village, accompanied by Martin Lutyens, past Prospect Cottage (The Institute) , Street House (where Lutyens grew up), through the gardens of Corner House (his first architectural commission) and up to the Church and Luytens's connections in the graveyard. This was followed by a delightful lunch in the pub, much enjoyed by everyone. One of the party had a small piece of glass and a sharpened piece of soap, the tools used by Lutyens in his teenage years wandering around the local countryside, who demonstrated how Lutyens copied the local architecture to provide him in later years with a source of architectural details. Christmas card sent to Mr and Mrs Anthony Langdale in 2024

An excerpt from a little brochure written in 1951, sadly, author unknown, but published “in aid of Thursley Festival Funds” at price 6d (old pennies for those who don’t remember!). The view from Dye House Road towards The Clump - 1925. Thursley 1951 A Brief History of the Parish and Village. “When writing a brief history of Thursley, it is difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction: between actual events and romantic yarns, which everyone has heard from their ancestors. The generations of Thursley’s inhabitants appear to include honest hard-working labourers, hard-working smugglers and hard-working highwaymen amongst those who have created its history. A variety to please all! Many years ago, the parish boundaries of Thursley extended as far as Haslemere, but now they are greatly curtailed. They run round Thursley Common, including Warren Mere and cut across to Bowlhead Green, almost to Brook, then back past Boundless Farm to the Devil’s Punch Bowl. They then continue round the bowl to Pitch Place, down to Truxford and back on to the common again. Naturally the Portsmouth Road has always had its influence upon Thursley’s life and villains often frequented it as it was a great source of revenue to the highwaymen. There is believed to be a secret underground passage running from the back of Foldsdown to the sandy bank at the foot of the hill below Millhanger (remember this was 1951, before the A3 extension - ed), through which they made good their escape after holding up the coaches, as they toiled up the hill. It has even been hinted that the local clergy had held up coaches themselves in order to improve depleted church funds. The church is largely Saxon, although it has been enlarged and restored. There is an old Saxon oven which was used for baking the Communion wafers and for heating charcoal for incense. The font is almost certainly Saxon and the massive oak timbers supporting the steeple make a structure which is probably unique. Inside, there is an interesting 16th century oak chest, fitted with three locks. Each warden was provided with a key for one lock and by this method, their honesty was never allowed to be in doubt. Not much is known about the very early history of Thursley; a few Neolithic implements have been found, mainly axe heads and arrow heads. However, during the 15th and 16th centuries, the woollen cloth industries flourished at Godalming, and although it was illegal to weave cloth outside the cloth towns, two Surrey families, the Hooke’s and the Chitty’s carried on the industry at Thursley. In the 17th century, Thursley became a centre of the iron smelting industry. The iron mills were built near a brook on Thursley Common, which was widened in places to make the ponds, known as the Hammer Ponds. These were used for cooling the iron as it was smelted. Gradually, the iron industry with its attendant occupation of charcoal burning, died out, and by the end of the 18th century, very little iron was worked. It is generally accepted that the first four cottages in The Lane (now Back Lane) were used as workshops, connected with the industry, while the cottages above them were the dwelling houses of the workmen. Silk weaving, at the beginning of the 19th century took the place of iron smelting, and the mills were also built near the Hammer Ponds. Much raw silk was reputedly smuggled from France to the mills at Warren Mere, then onto Dye House, where it was dyed before disposal. The smuggling activities were no doubt very profitably managed, and at a later date even whiskey was supposed to have been hidden away in cellars under Upper Highfield Farm and its outbuildings. It is said that the horses used to transport the whiskey, were taken to The Forge where the shoes were turned back to front in order to fool the customs officers. After the decline of the silk weaving industry, the common was left to sheep; quite large flocks being raised on the excellent grass, which at that time, covered Thursley heath. Thursley has now almost healed the scars of the last war and is peaceful once more. How will the future compare with the past? The facts show us Thursley is as lovely and industrious as ever, its countryside unrestricted to us in almost every direction, but no doubt the imagination can still visualise a smuggler behind every door”.