Four Centuries Under One Roof
Oakhurst Cottage stands beside Hambledon's cricket green, a small timber-framed building that has been continuously occupied since the 16th century. It started life as a barn, was converted to a dwelling, and passed through the hands of agricultural labourers, gardeners, and rural workers for over 400 years. It is one of the National Trust's smallest properties, and one of its most revealing.
The cottage was lived in until the mid-twentieth century. Miss Vera Margaret and Miss Beatrice Evelyn Allfrey, who had acquired it in 1937, gave it to the National Trust in 1954. The Trust restored it carefully, using traditional materials – lime plaster, riven lathes – and furnished it with period pieces that show how a modest Surrey family lived across the centuries.
Inside the Cottage
The rooms are small, low-ceilinged, and lit by small windows. Furniture from different periods reflects the cottage's long history, with a particular focus on the Victorian era. Downstairs, a fireplace dominates the living space. Upstairs, the bedrooms sit under the original timber roof frame. Outside, a garden with a small barn and outdoor privy complete the picture. The barn contains traditional tools for gardening and household maintenance.
Visits are by pre-booked guided tour only, limited to six people at a time because of the cottage's size. Tours run on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Bank Holiday Mondays during the open season, at 2pm and 3.30pm. The intimacy of the experience is part of the appeal – this is not a grand house viewed from behind a rope, but a domestic space you can stand inside and feel the scale of ordinary life in rural Surrey.
