Ewhurst appears in the Domesday Book as Iwhurst, meaning "yew wood," reflecting the ancient woodland that once covered this part of the Weald. The village sits on the southern slopes of the Surrey Hills, where the sandstone ridge drops away into the flatter clay country below. The church of St Peter and St Paul has Norman origins, and its tower has been a landmark on the ridge for centuries. Inside, fragments of medieval wall painting have been uncovered, showing scenes from the life of Christ.
The village was closely connected to the Wealden iron industry, which flourished across this region in Tudor and Stuart times. The combination of iron ore in the clay, abundant timber for charcoal, and streams for powering bellows and trip hammers made the Weald one of the most important iron-producing areas in England before the Industrial Revolution shifted production to the coalfields of the Midlands and North. Hammer ponds, created by damming streams to power the ironworks, can still be found in the surrounding woods. When the iron trade declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, Ewhurst returned to agriculture.
The village windmill, which once stood on the ridge above the green, has been converted to a private house but remains a local landmark. The Hurtwood, the largest area of common land in Surrey, wraps around the parish to the north and has been common land for centuries, providing grazing and fuel for local people. The annual village fete and cricket matches on the green maintain traditions stretching back generations. During the Second World War, the surrounding woods and quiet lanes were used for military training. The village has remained firmly rural, with no train station and limited public transport, which has kept it quieter and less developed than more accessible parts of Surrey.