Ashurst, West Sussex: A Village of Celebrity and Centuries
Ashurst is a small village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, situated approximately 2 miles west of Henfield and 11 miles south of Horsham, along the B2135 road. The parish covers an area of 1,009 hectares (2,490 acres) at the northern edge of the South Downs, overlooking the River Adur valley.
The manor of Ashurst is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Eatons", when eight tenants were noted on the estate. A nucleated village is documented by 1524, when a parishioner was described as living "in the east street". The list of rectors of the parish church of St James begins in 1401. By 1724 the population consisted of around 50 families, growing to 385 people by the first census of 1801.
The parish church of St James is a Grade I listed building, built chiefly of flint rubble with freestone dressings and a stone-tiled roof; most of the structure dates from the later 12th and early 13th centuries, with significant restoration work in the 19th century. The village pub, the Fountain Inn, is a 16th-century public house that was later given a Georgian façade; the poet Hilaire Belloc celebrated its beer in verse in 1902.
Ashurst's most celebrated resident was Sir Laurence Olivier, who lived in the village with his wife, Dame Joan Plowright, until his death in July 1989. His funeral was held at St James's Church, attended by Sir Alec Guinness, Dame Maggie Smith, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., among others. His ashes are interred in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey. Paul McCartney filmed his 1979 Christmas single "Wonderful Christmastime" at the Fountain Inn, and the singer Adele is reported to be an occasional visitor.
Points of interest: - Population: 279 inhabitants (2011 census). - Distance: 2 miles west of Henfield; 11 miles south of Horsham; 9 miles north of Brighton. - Attractions: Church of St James (Grade I listed, 12th–13th century), The Fountain Inn (16th century), South Downs walking routes, views over the Adur valley.