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'Farnham' is a small town in Surrey, England. Its railway station is on the Alton Line, which provides commuter links to London. The A31 Farnham bypass links the town by road to Winchester, Alton and Guildford, and the A325 links the town to the A3 (London-Portsmouth) at Greatham.
The town is situated 42 miles (67 km) southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. Guildford is 11 miles (17 km) to the east, Aldershot lies 4 miles (7 km) to the north and Winchester is 28 miles (45 km) to the west. Its sister city is Andernach in Germany.
It is of historic interest, with many old buildings, including a number of Georgian houses. Farnham Castle overlooks the town. Although now a conference centre, the medieval keep is in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public.
The town is roughly 80 metres (262ft) above sea level in the town centre, although in the northern and southern suburbs the altitude increases to around 120m (394ft). Crooksbury Hill to the east of the town is 162m (531ft). The town is situated on the North Downs.

Contents

History

Pre-1600

Post-1600

Education

Leisure and recreation

Sports

Entertainment

Public library

Shopping in Farnham

Politics

Famous people

References

External links

History

Pre-1600

Evidence exists of human presence of the site in the Paleolithic period, 400,000 years ago. Farnham first seems to have become inhabited during the Mesolithic period, around 6000BC, and continued to grow through the Bronze and Iron Ages.
In Roman times the district became a pottery centre due to the plentiful clay of the area. The remains of a pottery, as well as a Roman villa and bath have been found in the vicinity.
It was the Saxons who gave the town its name - Farnham is listed as ''Fearnhamme'' in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. ''Fearn'' refers to the fern and bracken of the land and ''Hamme'' to the water meadows. In 688 the West Saxon King Caedwalla donated the district around Farnham to the Church, and to the diocese of Winchester. A Saxon community grew up in the valley by the river. At the time of the Danish invasion in the 9th century there was a battle on the edge of the settlement when Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, routed the invaders.
Farnham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Ferneham''. It was held by the Bishop of Winchester. Its domesday assets were: 40 hides; 1 church, 6 mills worth £2 6s 0d, 43 ploughs, 35 acres of meadow, woodland worth 175½ hogs. It rendered £53.^[1]
The town is midway between Winchester and London and in 1138 Henry de Blois (grandson of William the Conqueror, and brother of King Stephen) started building the Castle to provide accommodation for the Bishop in his frequent journeying between his cathedral and the capital. The castle's garrison provided a market for farms and small industries in the town, accelerating its growth.
Farnham was eventually granted its charter as a town in 1249 by William de Ralegh, then Bishop of Winchester.
Farnham Grammar School was created some time before 1585 (the date of a donation being made by a Richard Searle "to the maintenance of the school in Farnham"). It is possible that this ancient school dated back as far as 1351 when a chantry was created at Farnham Castle, but there is no documentary evidence of this. It benefited over the years from bequests by different people as well as the generosity of Bishops of Winchester who occupied Farnham Castle over the centuries.

The Blind Bishop's Steps, a series of steps leading along Castle Street up to the Castle, were originally constructed for Bishop Richard Foxe (godfather of Henry VIII).

Post-1600

During the English Civil War the castle was, except for two short periods, in the hands of Parliamentary forces. In 1648 the keep was partially dismantled by the victorious parliamentarians, at the orders of Oliver Cromwell, to make further occupation by garrison impossible. In 1660 the Bishops of Winchester were restored to the adjoining Bishops Palace, which remained their residence until 1927. From 1927 until 1955 it was a residence of the Bishops of the newly created diocese of Guildford. The castle is currently owned by English Heritage.
The Black Death hit Farnham in 1348, killing about 1,300 people, at that time about a third of the population. In 1625 Farnham was again subject to an outbreak of the plague.
King Charles I stayed at Vernon House in Farnham on his way to his trial and execution in London in 1649. Vernon House is now the site of the town library.

Farnham became a successful market town; the author Daniel Defoe wrote that Farnham had the greatest corn-market after London, and describes 1,100 fully laden wagons delivering wheat to the town on market day. During the 17th century other new industries evolved: greenware pottery (a pottery, dating from 1873, still exists on the outskirts of the town), wool and cloth, the processing of wheat into flour, and eventually hops, a key ingredient of beer.
The essayist William Cobbett was born in Farnham in 1763, in a pub called the Jolly Farmer. The pub still stands, and has been renamed the William Cobbett.
The railway arrived in 1848 and, in 1854, neighbouring Aldershot became the “Home of the British Army”. Both events had a significant effect on Farnham. The fast link with London meant city businessmen could think of having a house in the country and still be in close contact with the office; Farnham thereby became an early example of a 'commuter town'. Also, the railway did not reach Aldershot until 1870; during the intervening period soldiers would be carried by train to Farnham station and then march to Aldershot. Many officers and their families chose to billet in Farnham itself. The railway was electrified by the Southern Railway company in 1937 as far as Alton, and a carriage shed for the new electric stock was built in Weydon Lane. This building, which carried fading camouflage paint for many years after World War II, was replaced in 2006.
In 1895 Farnham Urban District Council was formed. In 1930 the council purchased Farnham Park, a large park which occupies much of the former castle grounds.
In 1901, the population of Farnham was about 14,000. Since the end of the Second World War, Farnham has expanded from a population of about 20,000 to the present 38,000. Of that figure, approximately 15,000 live in the town centre, whilst the remaining 23,000 live in the surrounding suburbs and villages within the town's administrative boundaries.
Farnham Maltings, Bridge Square was once a tannery; the site expanded to become part of the Farnham United Breweries, which included its own maltings. Taken over by a major brewer (Courage) brewing ceased but malting continued into the 1960s, when Courage's planned to sell off the site for redevelopment. Money raised by the people of Farnham saved the buildings from demolition for conversion to a community centre for the town. Current management place the emphasis on the arts over other community activities, many of which have ceased or moved elsewhere, but the famous Farnham Beer Exhibition (or "Beerex") continues, after more than 30 years, to be as popular as ever.
In 1905 the town centre assets of the school were sold in order to purchase and build a new school in fields to the south of the town. In 1973, under Government education reforms, the school gave way to the present Farnham College.

Education

The University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester (a merger of the local Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College and Kent Institute of Art and Design) offers higher education as does Farnham College. There are three secondary schools in Farnham. These are Heath End School,Weydon School and All Hallows.

Leisure and recreation

Sports

There are various facilities available in Farnham one of which is the local leisure centre. The leisure centre has a gym under the Kinetica franchise through which personal instructors can be hired. The centre is also the home of Farnham Swimming Club which allows youngsters to swim and compete with other local clubs such as Guildford. The town is represented in the non-league football pyramid by Farnham Town F.C., who compete in the Combined Counties League.
The Farnham and Aldershot hockey club runs three men's teams and two women's teams. Floorball hockey is played by the adult team Southern Vipers FBC and junior floorball is also played at Farnham Sports Centre.
Farnham Rugby Football Club currently based in Wrecclesham had 2 famous players at mini level namely a Jonny Wilkinson ( England world cup winner and former captain) and Peter Richards England scrum half. Another England captain this time for one day cricket and another Farnham residence is Graham Thorpe who learnt his trade at the Ground at the edge of Farnham Park and in the shadows of the castle. There is also a local umpires association.^[2]

Entertainment

Farnham Maltings has band evenings and stand up comedy nights, however there is not a lot of entertainment for younger people. There is a cinema run every Wednesday at the Maltings but the films are either 'art house' or tend to be 6 months old. The Maltings does however host a successful "Acoustic Fridays" evening once a month, and this has a student following due to the fact many students play sets there. In keeping with the town's historical link with hop-growing and beer, the Farnham Maltings also plays host to the "Farnham Beerex", one of the largest beer festivals in Britain, an annual event that started in 1977. Some of the most popular pubs in Farnham are The Plough, The William Cobbett, The Lamb and the student union of SIAD, all of which have live music regularly. Although providing adequate entertainment, some have described the town as "a bit like Bournemouth without the clubs" perhaps referring to the demographics of the town!
Farnham also has a yearly carnival, normally on the last Saturday in June, organised by the community. In 2005 the carnival featured a band, several floats, Chinese Dragons and classic cars, among other attractions.

Public library

Farnham Public Library is a community facility that provides access to a wide range of books, audiobooks, periodicals, DVDs, videos and IT facilities. It includes a children's section and looks out over public gardens with sculptures provided by local artists. The library was refurbished in November 2005.

Shopping in Farnham

Farnham is a market town with many shops located along both sides of the main thoroughfare running through West Street, The Borough and East Street. The town includes a significant number of independent retailers offering antiques, furnishings, and high quality food items. There are also branches of national retailers such as Woolworths, Argos, Boots the Chemist, Waterstone's and W H Smith. The major supermarkets are represented by Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Lidl and Iceland in the town center, and two Tesco express's located on Ridgeway Road and in Upper Hale . Castle Street has market stalls selling a range of fresh produce. Farnham is also known for its numerous secondhand charity shops which offer plenty of high quality items, especially clothes.

Politics

Farnham Town Council Farnham Town Council is composed of 18 councillors. Of these, 14 are Conservatives, 3 are Independents, and 1 represents the Liberal Democrats,

Famous people

Farnham was the birthplace of Anglican divine Augustus Montague Toplady in 1740; essayist William Cobbett in 1763; inventor of Daylight saving time, William Willett 1856; writer George Sturt (a.k.a. George Bourne) in 1863; feminist and activist in Irish politics, Maud Gonne in 1866; 'Carry On' and 'Heartbeat' actor Bill Maynard in 1928; cricketer Graham Thorpe in 1969; and basketball player Joel Freeland in 1987.
John Henry Knight who built the first British motor car lived in Farnham.

References

1. Surrey Domesday Book
2. Farnham Umpires Association

External links

★ Farnham Maltings home page.

★ Farnham Town Council

★ Farnham Community Taskforce

★ History of Farnham Park

★ Farnham Museum

★ Farnham Castle

★ Shattaline - a Farnham business of the 1960s

★ Farnham Vineyard

★ BBC article on the rural impact of the Black Death of 1348, substantially discussing Farnham

★ The River Wey and Wey Navigations Community Site — a non-commercial site about the River Wey that includes information and images related to Farnham.