Farnham

FARNHAM, a parish and market town in the hundred of Farnham, county Surrey, 10 W.S.W. of Guildford, and 38 from London by road, or 40¼ by the South-Western railway, on which it is a station. It is situated on the right bank of the river Wey, near the borders of Hampshire. The parish includes the tythings of Wrecklesham, Badshot, Runford, Runwick, Tilford, and Culverlands. The town, though small, has a thriving appearance.

In 1851 its population was 3,515, which in 1861 had increased to 3,926. It is a place of great antiquity, and in its immediate vicinity is a large camp, called Cæsar's Camp. In the Saxon times it was a place of considerable importance, and was given by Ethelbald, King of the West Saxons, to the see of Winchester, to which it has ever since belonged.

On the N. side of the town is the Bishop's Palace, originally built, in 1129, by Henry do Blois, Bishop of Winchester, the brother of King Stephen. It was reputed a powerful fortress, and stood several sieges, but was dismantled by Henry III. It was rebuilt and again destroyed during the Civil War by Sir William Waller, who commanded the parliamentary troops. After the Restoration, Dr. Morley, Bishop of Winchester, expended a considerable sum in erecting the present structure, which is of brick covered with stucco, and of a quadrangular form. It is surrounded by a park of 300 acres, watered by the river Loddon, a tributary of the Wey, and by the liberality of the bishop is open to the inhabitants.

On the borders of the park is Waverley Abbey, an extra-parochial village, containing twelve houses; it derives its name from the monastery of Cistercian monks, founded in 1128 by Gifford, Bishop of Winchester, the ruins of which extend in detached portions over an area of 3 or 4 acres. The bishop, as lord of the hundred of Farnham, holds his courts in Lawday, or Lady-house, on the N. side of the castle.

The town seal of Farnham bears a castle, triple towered, supposed to represent the original structure, built by Henry de Blois. During the reign of Edward II. Farnham returned members to parliament, and subsequently had an extensive trade in the cloth manufacture, now extinct.

There are still manufactures of sacking, sail-cloth, painted canvas, floor-cloth, and a kind of carpeting of Indian hemp, but the staple article of the trade of Farnham is hops, for which the neighbourhood is celebrated; the largest plantations are less than 60 acres, and the average yield about 6 cwt. per acre. The great hop fair which is held at Weyhill, near Andover, begins on the 10th October and lasts for the five following days.

Farnham is the seat of a Poor-law Union and of a County Court district; the latter is held monthly at the "Bush" inn.

The town consists chiefly of one street, running E. and W., near the centre of which is the market-place. It contains a market-house, savings-bank, and mechanics' institute. The streets are lighted with gas, but indifferently paved.

In the town stands the parish church, an ancient building of the time of Henry VI., with a tower of the 12th century. It is dedicated to St. Andrew, and was built as a chapel-of-ease to Waverley Abbey; it has been lately restored and enlarged, and is still in course of improvement. In the interior are some handsome monuments, and the chancel contains three painted windows, recently inserted.

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Winchester, value with the curacy of Tilford annexed, £430, in the patronage of the Archdeacon of Surrey, who is vicar. Two new district churches have been erected at Wrecklesham and Hale, in this parish; also two chapels-of-ease, one at Tilford, a hamlet distant 3 miles from the parish church, and another on the Bourne, 1 mile distant. The livings of both are perpetual curacies, value respectively £100 and £120, the former in the gift of the bishop, the latter in that of the Vicar of Farnham.

The Independents and Baptists have each a chapel. Spacious school buildings have been recently erected at Farnham, at a cost of £2,400; also a commercial school in connection with the diocesan Board of Education, being a revival of the old grammar school, which had fallen into decay. William Cobbett, the politician, was born here.

Market day is Thursday, chiefly for corn and hops; a cattle market is held every alternate Thursday. Fairs are held on Holy Thursday, the 24th June, and 13th November; also an extensive hop fair at Weyhill on the 10th October.