This property is situated in Salt Box Road, adjacent to Britten's Pond, some distance West of the Jacobs Well "triangle" but deserves consideration as one of the ancient buildings of the locality. (Salt Box Road was previously known as Britton's Pond Road)

On 26th March 1660 an agreement was signed between Sir John Wipley and his wife Dame Mary of Hamstoodhall in the County of Staffordshire, and Daniel Stringer and his wife Margery of Worpesdun in the County of Surrey. (She was the illegitimate daughter of Francis Woolley, from whom she had inherited the Manor of Burgham before her marriage)

Daniel Stringer's name was later given not only to this cottage but also to Stringers Common - which was originally called Burgham Green - Stringers Farm and later to Stringers Avenue.

This agreement concerned "all that new erected cottage lately built on the comen of Burfam otherwise Burgham .... together with Fower acres of land heretofore parcell of the said common ... inclosed out of the same." Daniel and his wife were granted a lease for one thousand years at an annual rent of "six shillings eight pence of lawful monie of England." and "Two fatt pulletts". These details are also recorded in the Manor of Burgham Court Book for the period 1666 to 1685.

Although the cottage is described as "new erected" the report of the Domestic Buildings Research Group (Surrey) concludes that the rear, timber-framed, part of the residence now known as Stringers Barn has features which indicate that it was probably built in the early to mid 16th century with an open hall which was partially ceiled later in the 16th century. In the 17th century a chimney was added and the ceiling of the service rooms raised and replaced. Perhaps "new erected" referred to these improvements.

A boarded, timber-framed barn of seven bays was built, probably in the 18th century, from the frames of two late 16th or 17th barns placed end to end.

Around 1800 a two storey brick building, with a gabled, tiled roof was added in front of the cottage - "TC 1811" is scratched on a brick by the central first floor window.

The property does not appear on the map of 1686 because all William Crosse's estate lay to the East of the Woking Road. We have no way of telling whether it belonged to the Russell family. Its first appearance on a map seems to be on John Roque's map of Surrey dated 1754 - which curiously shows the "Crosse" house at Hurst but not the "Russell" house.

The Tithe Apportionment of 1838 describes it as a "House & garden", labelled "Hurst" on the accompanying map, owned by Richard Fathers, and occupied by George Augustus Breton. The latter was still there at the time of the 1841 census but in 1861 the occupier was Henry Nash (we can find no entry in the 1851 census). From 1841 to 1891 successive census enumerators described it as Hurst-farm, Hurst house farm, Hurst Farm, New Hurst Farm, Little House Farm (sic), Little Hurst Farm and Little Hurst.

This property is not drawn on the maps which formed part of the Particulars of Sale for the 1877 Auction, but the area which it occupied was marked as owned by Rev.Samuel Paynter (of Stoke Hill and grandfather of the future Mrs Treeby).

During the 1920s one part of Littlehurst was occupied by Thomas Todd and his family and the other by Mr and Mrs Day. Thomas Todd was Head Gardner to Henry Treeby who employed 4-5 gardeners at Willow Grange until hisdeath in 1935. His daughter, Joy Todd, who became one of the first women to be consecrated, is well known in Guildford.

Littlehurst had acquired the name of Stringers Barn by 1950, when it was owned and occupied by Eric Keown - at that time the Art Editor of "Punch" magazine.