Frensham is a village in Surrey, England, next to the A287 road, WSW of

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, the county town. Frensham lies on the right bank of the River Wey (south branch), only navigable to canoes, shortly before its convergence with the north branch. Farnham is the nearest town, to the north. The majority of Frensham parish is within the Metropolitan Green Belt and the substantial green buffer in the parish is Frensham Common which is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The non-agricultural land surrounding the village is mainly open heathland and birch woodland. The Common covers about and comprises heathland, together with some coniferous and mixed woodland. There are two large ponds, known as Frensham Great and Little Ponds, which were built in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to provide

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

for the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat ('' cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held '' ex officio'' (except ...

's estate and today are the backdrop for a hotel and are used for fishing and sailing.

History

Before the English Reformation

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

camp or living sites have been discovered around Frensham. Hundreds of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

arrowheads have been found around Frensham and there are several

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones b ...

(burial sites). In 688 AD, King Caedwalla of Wessex made a charter conveying to the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

hides __NOTOC__ Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a stru ...

of land that included Farnham, Frensham and Churt. This became the property of Hedda, Bishop of Winchester. The origins of the name Frensham come from 'Frena's ham'. Frena was the name of either a Danish

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant " chieftain", partic ...

who was killed in the battle of Ashdown in the year 871, or of a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

who was driven south from

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

by the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard ...

in 993. The second part 'ham' means 'settlement', and is also from where we get the word 'home', so Frensham is 'Frena's settlement'. In 1348, Frensham suffered from the plague. Before it ceased in 1350, fifty-two area farms had become desolate. Frensham Beale Manor, off Mill Lane, is a Grade II listed timber framed manor house dating from the 14th century.

Neighbourhoods

Frensham includes the neighbourhood or locality, largely separated by a small green buffer, Rushmoor or Rush Moor. A few outlying farmsteads have also become reverted to clusters of houses.

Industries

Locally clay was extracted from around Frensham for Farnham Pottery. The

managed to retain ownership of most of his historic Farnham estate including most manors in the south until the 19th century. In the 17th century, farmers focused primarily on hop growing and

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

rearing. Fishermen continued to work Frensham Great Pond.

20th century

Having been drained in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the lakes in the common were transformed into a leisure destination and in the late 20th century they were used as film locations for the 1999 film ''The Mummy''. Actress Liza Goddard was a Frensham resident. Pierrepont School was bought by Ellel Ministries International and converted into a training centre.

St Mary's Church

Originally a chapelry of Farnham, the present St Mary's church was dedicated in 1239, having been moved from its previous site on low ground beside the River Wey. The move was probably due to the massive storms of the 1230s which flooded

Waverley Abbey Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, the Bishop of Winchester. Located about southeast of Farnham, Surrey, it is situated on a flood-plain; surrounded by current and previous channe ...

, downstream, to a depth of . The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

is the oldest part of the church, its walls being those of the original building, the 13th century niches,

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman ...

and

aumbry An ambry (or ''almery'', ''aumbry''; from the medieval form ''almarium'', cf. Lat. ''armārium'', "a place for keeping tools"; cf. O. Fr. ''aumoire'' and mod. armoire) is a recessed cabinet in the wall of a Christian church for storing sacred ves ...

. The tower is 14th century, with massive diagonal buttresses and eight bells dated between 1627 and the 19th century. The porch is restored but is believed to be 15th century. The north aisle was built in 1827, and the whole church was subject to a major restoration in 1868. The font, of

Purbeck Marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology St ...

, is early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

but its carvings are nearly obliterated. The organ was installed in 1871 with subsequent modernisations. The exterior of the building is of local

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

and rubble, with evidence of endless repair and reconstruction. The church contains a large cauldron, said to have been borrowed from the fairies and never returned.

Demography and housing

Historic

The population of Frensham in 1851 was 714. Today the area of Frensham, Dockenfield and Tilford has a total population of 3,961.

Latest statistics

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares with the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining percentage is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible percentage of households living rent-free).

Amenities

Frensham post office and village shop is a community run shop and celebrated its tenth anniversary in January 2006. There are four local schools: St Mary's Church of England Infants' School,

Frensham Heights Frensham Heights School is an independent school and sixth form college located near Farnham, Surrey, England, run by the registered charity, Frensham Heights Educational Trust Ltd. It was founded in 1925 and formed as part of the movement for ...

, Edgeborough and More House. More House is the largest residential special school in the uk, educating boys with specific learning and language-based difficulties, including Dyslexia, Developmental Language Disorders and Dyspraxia. Frensham Great Pond, lying within Frensham Common, extends over and is a centre for sailing activities. The pond sometimes suffers from

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

. The occasional presence of blue-green algae means that official advice regarding swimming varies, as indicated by notices at the water's edge. The smaller Frensham Little Pond is a scenic area for picnics - neither swimming nor sailing is allowed there. There are two active sports clubs in the village - Frensham Cricket Club and the Frensham RBL Bowls Club.Frensham RBL Bowls Club
/ref> The cricket club (2013) has two grounds, and plays in the I'Anson league with local villages. The bowls club have a very busy friendlies schedule as well as playing in the West Surrey Men's League, the Three Counties Bowl Fellowship and the Farnham and District league.

References

External links

Frensham Parish Council Website

Multimap

Results and conclusions of village survey

Frensham Little Pond

{{authority control Villages in Surrey Borough of Waverley Civil parishes in Surrey