Farnborough, Hampshire

Farnborough is a town in northeast Hampshire, England, part of the borough of Rushmoor and the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area. Farnborough was founded in Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is formed from ''Ferneberga'' which means "fern hill". According to the UK-wide 2011 Census, the population of Farnborough is 57,486.

The town is probably best known for its association with aviation, with the Farnborough Airshow, Farnborough Airport, Royal Aircraft Establishment, and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

History

Farnborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book as part of the settlement of Crondall. Over the centuries, it was known as ''Ferneberga'' (11th century); ''Farnburghe'', ''Farenberg'' (13th century); ''Farnborowe'', ''Fremborough'', and ''Farneborough'' (16th century).

Tower Hill

Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence
that many years ago a large accumulation of Sarsen stones existed upon what later came to be known as ''Tower Hill''.

Farnborough Hill school

The town is the home of St. Michael's Abbey. The Imperial Crypt there is the resting place of Napoleon III (1808–1873), Emperor of the French, and his wife, Eugénie de Montijo, (1826–1920) and their son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial. The Abbey was the home of the Catholic National Library from 2007 until it was relocated to Durham University Library in 2015.

River Blackwater

The River Blackwater on the Hampshire/Surrey border was the location of the first international prize fight between Tom Sayers and John C. Heenan, which took place near the location of the Ship Inn pub.

Samuel Cody

Closely associated with Farnborough Airfield, situated between Farnborough and Fleet, is Samuel Franklin Cody. Cody, or Colonel Sam Cody as he was known, was one of the early pioneers of aviation. He died when he crashed his plane on Ball Hill, a site which is now within Qinetiq's Technology Park. A statue was unveiled on the 100th anniversary of his death, 7 August 2013. The statue is sited outside the FAST museum, home of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust, surrounded by commemorative paving paid for by supporters.

RAE

Farnborough Airfield is the site of the historic Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). Part of the old RAE, Farnborough's historic wind tunnels are now listed buildings, two in particular being preserved, the first built in 1917 and the other, much larger, in 1935. The latter was used extensively for research into Concorde's aerodynamics, and later that of Formula 1 cars, until its closure in the early 1990s. The tunnels were open to the public during June and July 2014 until the end of the Farnborough International Airshow.

Sir Frank Whittle conducted much of his research into jet aircraft at the RAE.
A replica Gloster E.28/39 (based on his prototype) is sited on a roundabout along Ively Road in tribute to its inventor.

The Tumble Down Dick

An inn, The Tumble Down Dick Pub has been present on the A325 Farnborough Road since the 17th century. It was reputedly connected to Richard Cromwell, and was the central focus of the town before its 19th-century refocus toward North Camp and the town centre proper's 20th-century development. The pub closed in 2008 and was designated an "Asset of Community Value" in 2013 after local protest over a request for planning permission by McDonald's. The ACV status was later rescinded after an appeal by the site's owners. It was converted to a McDonald's restaurant and the building reopened with a new roof in October 2014 after being allowed to lie derelict for six years. During the renovation, an early advertisement for the H & G Simonds Brewery in Reading was discovered and is now on display on the side of the building.

Churches

St Peter's parish church dates back to 1180, as part of the manor of Crondall. It has a burial vault built by Henry Wilmot, Lord of the Manor from 1768. As Farnborough developed in the Victorian era, the church was extended to accommodate a growing congregation: a new chancel was built in 1886 and in 1900-01 north and south transepts and a south aisle were added.

St Mark's Anglican Church, Alexandra Road, was built in 1881.

Transport

Farnborough is near junctions 4 and 4a of the M3 motorway. The A325 enters the town from Frimley to the north, and continues into Aldershot to the south. The A331 runs north to south along the east side of the town.

Farnborough is served by three railway stations, the busiest of which is Farnborough (Main) railway station on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Basingstoke and beyond. Farnborough North railway station and North Camp railway station are both on the North Downs Line between Reading and Gatwick. North Camp station is a short distance over the county border, in the Surrey village of Ash Vale.

Since 2003 Farnborough Airport has been a business airport operated by TAG Aviation. The Farnborough International Airshow takes place at the airport on even numbered years.

Governance

Borough

Farnborough is part of the Borough of Rushmoor, along with Aldershot.
It contains eight wards, each with three elected borough councillors. Until 2011, there were nine wards, but following the Electoral boundary reviews, Grange and Mayfield wards were merged to create Cherrywood ward. The full list of wards and their councillors is as follows:

Cove & Southwood:
Sue Carter (Conservative),
Steve Masterson (Conservative),
Martin Tennant (Conservative)

Cherrywood:
Nem Thapa (Conservative),
Christine Guinness (Labour),
Ashley Halstead (Labour)

Empress:
Marina Munro (Conservative),
Adrian Newell (Conservative),
Mike Smith (Conservative)

Fernhill:
John Marsh (Conservative),
Ken Muschamp (Conservative),
Jess Auton (Conservative)

Knellwood:
Mara Makunura (Conservative),
Calum Stewart (Conservative),
Paul Taylor (Conservative)

St. Johns:
Jacqui Vosper (Conservative),
Barbara Hurst (Conservative),
Jonathan Canty (Conservative)

St. Marks:
Dianne Bedford (Conservative),
Abul Chowdhury (Conservative was Liberal Democrats),
Thomas Mitchell (Liberal Democrats)

West Heath:
Rod Cooper (Conservative),
Lee Jeffers (Conservative),
Michael Hope (Conservative)

County

Farnborough is represented on Hampshire County Council by three Divisions, each with a single elected representative.

Farnborough North:
Roz Chadd (Conservative)

Farnborough South:
Roland Dibbs (Conservative)

Farnborough West:
Rod Cooper (Conservative)

National

Since 2017, the local MP is Leo Docherty (Conservative) for the Constituency of Aldershot, a former captain in the army.

Notable residents

* French emperor Napoleon III, his wife Empress Eugenie and son Louis Napoleon are entombed in the crypt at Saint Michael's Abbey, although it was only Eugenie who was a resident of Farnborough while alive. Their former house was turned into an independent Boarding school and convent set in 64 acres of ground, Farnborough Hill Convent
* Anne Robinson went to school in Farnborough.
* Former Middlesex County Cricket Club captain Shaun Udal, who also played for Hampshire and at international level for England, was born and raised here.
* Arthur English lived in Farnborough for a period, as well as Christopher Lillicrap, children's TV presenter and writer.
* Fernand Cabrol, monk and scholar became Prior and, later, Abbot at the Benedictine abbey.
* In 1922 T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was posted to RAF Farnborough for a photography course, it is thought he lived in Farnborough for 6 weeks.
* Actress Janet Wright was born in Farnborough before moving to Canada as a child.
*Robbe De Hert, Belgian film director, was born in Farnborough.
* Composer Percy Fletcher lived in Farnborough during the 1920s, when he was working in London as a theatre composer and conductor.

Media

Only some parts of Farnborough are served by two free local newspapers, The Star Courier (published from 18 September 2008 as a combination of the former Surrey Hants Star and the Aldershot Farnborough Courier) and The Rush, along with one local available for purchase, The Farnborough News & Mail. Although the local ITV news region is ITV Meridian and the local BBC
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