Abinger Hammer lies within the parish of Abinger which includes Abinger Common and Sutton Abinger. Other neighbouring villages are Wotton and Gomshall. The River Tillingbourne flows through the village. Brown trout swim in the stream, which is their natural habitat; the occasional larger rainbow trout can be sighted. These may have escaped from the fish farm further downstream towards Gomshall.
History
The Tillingbourne was enchannelled in the 16th century into a hammer pond, providing water power for Abinger Hammer Mill, also called Abinger Forge, the Hammer forge or Shere forge, which worked Sussex-sourced iron. It has subsequently been adapted for the cultivation of watercress. The hammer mill was in operation during the second half of the 16th century. The reputed manufacture of guns for use against the Spanish Armada has no basis in fact; the mill being incapable of casting iron. The waters of the Tillingbourne powered the water wheel which drove the heavy, hammer of the forge. The forge closed in 1787 despite attempts to save or convert it. A contemporary forge, Finch Foundry, survives in Devon. The clock which overhangs the main road portrays the figure of "Jack the Blacksmith", who strikes the hour with his hammer. The clock bears the motto "By me you know how fast to go". The clock was given in memory of the first Lord Farrer of Abinger Hall who died in 1899. The clock represents the iron industry and the role played by the county of Surrey in the industrial past.
In summer the village green in Abinger is popular with locals and tourists who like to picnic on the grass whilst watching a game of cricket in surroundings which are quintessentially English. The cricket pitch borders the Tillingbourne - the Post Office sells nets for children to "fish" in this shallow and sandy stream. Annie's tearoom is next to the Post Office and offers lunches and teas seven days a week.
Education
Abinger Hammer village school was a state school but after the LEA closed it in 1982, the local community took over the running of it. As of 2008 the school had only sixteen students. A small group of trustees worked to raise funds to maintain the building and to pay the staff. The number of students has since reduced until the school was forced to close in July 2009.
Nature
is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty recognised earlier than the parent AONB covering all of the surrounding area, the Surrey Hills AONB for its plant species and its aesthetic quality. It is south of the village.
People
During the years 1925 to 1945, the novelist E. M. Forster lived with his mother Alice Clare, "Lily", in West Hackhurst, Abinger Hammer in a house designed by his father, the architect Eddie Morgan Forster, and previously occupied by his aunt Laura. Forster was obliged to leave this home in 1946 as the landlord refused to renew the lease. Edward Wilkins Waite, landscape painter, lived for a time at Abinger Hammer. He was born in Leatherhead, Surrey, and much of his work depicted rural scenes in the county - including at least one picture, :File:Edward Wilkins Waite03.jpg|Old Willows, painted in the vicinity of the village. David Nobbs gave Abinger Hammer as the location of the home of Uncle Percy Spillinger, played by late actor Tony Sympson, in Episode 4, Series 1 of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. The actor John Gordon Sinclair lives in Abinger Hammer.
