Town in Surrey, England
Farnham
Farnham's hops were once among the most prized in England, and its streets produced a hymn writer, a radical journalist and a Formula One champion's garage.
Key information
- County
- Surrey
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Farnham Castle, Georgian Castle Street, historic hop growing, green-glazed pottery
- What locals are called
- Farnhamites
- Famous people
- William Cobbett, Augustus Toplady, George Sturt, Mike Hawthorn
- Football clubs
- Farnham Town
About Farnham
The castle that served the bishops for nearly 800 years
Farnham Castle was begun in 1138 by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen. It was a bishop's fortress and later a bishop's home, and it served the Bishops of Winchester until 1927. That link was interrupted during the Civil War and Commonwealth, when bishops' estates were confiscated and sold, but it was restored in 1660 and ran on for another 267 years. The great shell keep on its mound still dominates the town. The bishops' residence beside it grew grander over the centuries, with later additions that reflect the wealth of one of the richest sees in England. The castle changed hands in the Civil War, when Parliament's forces took it in 1642.
Why Castle Street looks so smart
Walk down Castle Street towards the castle and you are on one of the most admired Georgian streets in Surrey. It is unusually wide, because it began as a market space, and it is lined with elegant brick houses built by people who had made money from trade, corn and hops. Willmer House, with its showy front dating from 1718, now holds the Museum of Farnham. The town's Georgian polish came from the same source as its prosperity: it sat on a busy route between London and the south-west, and it was a major corn market. The result is a town centre that feels planned, even though it simply grew rich in the right century.
The hop town that sold the best bines in England
Before Kent claimed the national hop crown, Farnham's hops were among the most prized in the country. Brewers valued them highly, and the fields around the town were thick with poles and bines every summer. The trade left its mark on the buildings. The Farnham Maltings, a former maltings, is now one of the town's busiest arts centres, hosting theatre, music, markets and exhibitions. Hop growing has faded, but the town's brewing past still shows in old kilns, pub names and the shape of a few streets.
Green pots and a wheelwright's shop
Farnham's clay gave it a pottery tradition, centred on Wrecclesham, just outside the centre. Farnham Pottery turned out distinctive green-glazed ware, popular for garden and kitchen use, and examples still turn up with collectors. Craft was also at the heart of George Sturt's work. Born in Farnham, he ran the family wheelwright's shop and wrote the classic account of the trade, The Wheelwright's Shop, which remains one of the best books ever written about rural craftsmanship. The tradition continues in the town's art school, now part of the University for the Creative Arts, which has trained designers and artists in Farnham for well over a century.
A radical, a hymn writer, a naturalist and a racing champion
William Cobbett, the farmer's son who became a fiery reforming journalist and author of Rural Rides, was born in Farnham in 1763. He is buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's, not far from where he grew up. Augustus Toplady, who wrote the hymn Rock of Ages, was born here in 1740. Just outside town, Moor Park was the home of Sir William Temple, whose secretary Jonathan Swift worked there as a young man. In the 1850s Charles Darwin visited the hydropathic establishment at Moor Park for the water cure, using the quiet Surrey countryside as a break from his work. Mike Hawthorn, Britain's first Formula One world champion in 1958, ran the Tourist Trophy Garage in Farnham. He died in a road accident on the Guildford bypass in 1959, only months after retiring at the top.
Parks, paths and Saturday football
Farnham Park, once the bishops' deer park, is a large open space of grass and woodland running up behind the castle. The Pilgrims' Way and North Downs Way run nearby, and the River Wey winds through the town and its meadows. For sport, Farnham Town Football Club is the local side, playing in the non-league pyramid. The place has a lived-in market-town character, with independent shops, coffee spots and a regular arts and carnival calendar that keeps the old streets busy.