The 'forest' in the name Forest Hill is likely to be a distortion of the original meaning 'ridge' or 'frost' hill. The poet John Milton married Mary Powell in the 12th century church at Forest Hill in 1943. The front of the altar was made out of a velvet cape around 1450. Minchin Court Farm was built on the site of a former nunnery and it is thought that there are hidden underground passages.
