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Farnborough, Hampshire

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This article is about the town south west of London. For other places of the same name, see Farnborough (disambiguation).
Farnborough
Population57,147 (Census 2001)
OS grid referenceSU871554
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townFARNBOROUGH
Postcode districtGU14
Dialling code01252, 01276
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight
FireHampshire and Isle of Wight
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire

Farnborough is a town in north east Hampshire, England, and part of the district of Rushmoor. 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".

The town is probably best known as the home of the Farnborough Airshow. It is also home to the newly promoted Farnborough F.C. currently playing in the Conference South league, Farnborough Aerodrome, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the Sixth Form College, Farnborough and the international headquarters of both BAE Systems and QinetiQ.

Geography

Farnborough is situated in northeast Hampshire and near the boundary with Surrey. The River Blackwater forms part of the boundary. It is located 34 miles (55 km) southwest of London and 16 miles (26 km) east of Basingstoke, directly to the south of junction 4 of the M3 motorway. The town lies at the centre of the Blackwater Valley conurbation, which includes Aldershot, Camberley, Yateley, Sandhurst, Frimley and Farnham.

Farnborough has incorporated several sizeable villages as it has expanded, including Cove and Southwood, both of which are now considered suburbs. It is contiguous with the garrison town of Aldershot to the south and with Frimley to the north. Based in the town is the council of the local government district of Rushmoor. The district has borough status and also covers nearby Aldershot.

Farnborough's suburban areas include Southwood, Rafborough, Cove, Farnborough Park, Farnborough Street, West Heath, North Camp, South Farnborough, Fox Lane, Barningley Park.

Within Farnborough the only naturally occurring significant flowing water is Cove Brook.

History

Name changes: Ferneberga (11th century); Farnburghe, Farenberg (13th century); Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough (16th century).

Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence[1] that many years ago a large accumulation of Sarsen stones existed upon what later came to be known as 'Tower Hill'. To this day well over 1,000 of these stones remain, sized from one or two ton down to loaf size, scattered, reused for many different purposes, but still within a short distance of their probable original site.

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, Louis Napoléon, The Prince Imperial, who was killed in South Africa aged 23, on (1 June 1879) by the Zulus. The crypt of St Peter's Old Parish Church is also believed to house the remains of many of the Earls of Anglesey.

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.[2][3]

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.

Transport

There are multiple forms of public transport, including the public bus.

London can be reached by rail, via the M3 motorway, via the A325 and A30, by using a number of minor roads to avoid the traffic or by using a number of public footpaths indicated on the local Ordnance Survey maps. The main road, named Farnborough Road, enters the town from Camberley to the north, and continues into Aldershot to the south.

The town centre has a serious traffic problem and can get virtually gridlocked during the morning and evening rush hours.

Rail

Farnborough is served by four railway stations:

Air

A monument to the Gloster E.28/39

A noted airshow takes place at Farnborough Airfield, situated between Farnborough and Fleet and the site of the historic Royal Aircraft Establishment. Closely associated with Farnborough Airfield is Samuel Franklin Cody. Cody, or Col 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 monument to Sir Frank Whittle's prototype jet aircraft is sited on a roundabout along Ively Road. The replica Gloster E28/39 (based on the prototype) was erected as a tribute to its inventor who conducted much of his research at the RAE.

Farnborough Airfield was turned into a business airport operated by TAG Aviation. In October 2005, TAG applied to double their number of flights at weekends. Opposition to the business airport has been chronicled by Blackwater Environmental Justice and FARA was formed by the local community to oppose the airport expansion. The airport's IATA code is FAB, and the ICAO code is EGLF.

In 2006, the Airbus A380 flew over the town flanked by the world famous Red Arrows to open the show. The 2006 show also featured the Mikoyan MiG-29 as well as other aircraft.

Farnborough Airfield was featured in the 2009 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, as the Austrian airport Bond flies from following the performance of Tosca. Due to its architecture, Bruneval Barracks on Montgomery Lines in nearby Aldershot provided scenery for the scenes in a snowy Russian Army base at the end of the film.[4]

Politics

Borough

Farnborough is part of the Borough of Rushmoor, along with Aldershot.[5] It contains nine wards, each with three elected councillors.

Cove & Southwood:[6]- Cllr. Sue Carter (Conservative), Cllr. Alan Chainey (Conservative), Cllr. Martin Tennant (Conservative)

Empress:[7]- Cllr. David Clifford (Conservative), Cllr. Gareth Lyon (Conservative), Cllr. Brian Parker (Conservative)

Fernhill:[8]- Cllr. Alan Ferrier (Conservative), Cllr. John Marsh (Conservative), Cllr. Ken Mushamp (Conservative)

Grange:[9]- Cllr. Hazel Manning (Liberal Democrats), Cllr. Stephen Masterson (Conservative), Cllr. Mike Smith (Conservative)

Knellwood:[10]- Cllr. Roland Dibbs (Conservative), Cllr. Adam Jackman (Conservative), Cllr. Paul Taylor (Conservative)

Mayfield:[11]- Cllr. Mike Manning (Liberal Democrats), Cllr. Neville Dewey (Liberal Democrats), Cllr. Charlie Frazer-Fleming (Liberal Democrats)

St. Johns:[12]- Cllr. Jacqui Vosper (Conservative), Cllr. Barbara Hurst (Conservative), Cllr. Peter Moyle (Conservative)

St. Marks:[13]- Cllr. Dr. Crispin Allard (Liberal Democrats), Cllr. Dianne Bedford (Conservative), Cllr. Alistair Mackie (Liberal Democrats)

West Heath:[14]- Cllr. Steve Smith (Conservative), Cllr. Mark Staplehurst (Conservative), Cllr. Dave Thomas (Conservative)

County

Farnborough is represented on Hampshire County Council by three Divisions, each with a single elected representative. Each District covers three wards of Rushmoor Borough Council.

North Farnborough:[15]- Cllr. Carol Leversha (Conservative) (Cove & Southwood, St. Johns & West Heath Wards)

South Farnborough:[16]- Cllr. John Wall (Conservative) (Empress, Knellwood & St. Marks Wards)

West Farnborough:[17]- Cllr. Roz Muschamp (Conservative) (Fernhill, Grange & Mayfield Wards)

National

The local MP is Gerald Howarth (Conservative) for the Constituency of Aldershot, a defence minister.

Famous residents

Napoleon III, his wife Empress Eugenie and son Louis Napoleon are entombed in the crypt at Saint Michael's Abbey. Paul Weller, David Mellor Nigel Farage and Anne Robinson all went to school in Farnborough. Current Middlesex County Cricket Club captain Shaun Udal, who previously played for Hampshire and at international level for England, was born and raised here. Arthur English lived in Farnborough. Fernand Cabrol, monk and scholar became prior and afterwards abbot at the Benedictine abbey.

Media

Farnborough is served by two free local newspapers, The Star Courier (published from September 18, 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.[18] The local ITV news region is ITV Meridian and the local BBC TV news region is BBC South. Farnborough is covered by BBC radio on BBC Surrey (which covers Surrey & North-East Hampshire on 104.6FM). Local commercial radio stations are 96.4 Eagle Radio and County Sound Radio. Actually broadcast from farnborough itself is CMR Nashville, an international country and western station

Farnborough Aerospace Centre

Part of the Farnborough Aerospace Centre business park, headquarters of BAE Systems and several other companies.

Farnborough Aerospace Centre is a business park south of the airfield, built between 1990 and 1992. Most of the buildings are occupied by BAE Systems and form the company's headquarters. When British Aerospace merged with Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems, the Farnborough site remained the headquarters for the enlarged company; BAE's board meets in London.

IQ Farnborough (Farnborough Business Park)

The reconstructed Airship Hangar at Farnborough.

Adjacent to the airport, IQ Farnborough, the new name for Farnborough Business Park,[19] is a major development which aims to have around 1,670,000 sq ft (155,000 m2) of new office space. There are plans to make this area not only a major business centre, but also a new centrepiece for Farnborough.

When completed it will include new housing, a De Vere-run Village Hotel, symbolic office buildings[clarification needed], a Barons BMW and MINI dealership, a new aviation library, and the refurbishing of the listed wind tunnels on the site. Current tenants include: AgustaWestland, Autodesk, Blue Coat Systems, Bluhalo,[20] Defence Strategy & Solutions, Imagine Homes, Orcare Limited[21], Fluor Limited[22], and Red Hat.

Also on the park is the frame of a 1910 Airship Hangar which had previously been dismantled to house wind tunnels, but is now reconstructed - minus its outer skin - to make an impressive centrepiece. The structure has now been listed and protected as a Grade II building.

There is also a luxury, 169 bedroom hotel called the 'Aviator', part of the Dakota Hotel chain on the A325 which opened on the 21st of July 2008.

During the fifteenth series of Top Gear a race was performed around the business park.

Other industry

Farnborough's North Camp district is notable as being the location of Hampshire's only full-throughput abattoir, nestled between housing and a school at Peabody Road. It is licensed to kill cows, sheep & pigs, as well as goat, deer, bison and buffalo.

Retail

Farnborough has one main shopping centre divided into three areas; Kingsmead and Queensmead (which are currently undergoing redevelopment into 'The Meads') and Princesmead. There are three supermarkets in Farnborough, Asda and Sainsbury's in the town centre, and Morrisons in Southwood.

Solartron retail park is located to the West of the town centre and contains DFS, Paul Simon, Carpetright, Allied Carpets, Maplin Electronics and Pets at Home. Next to Solartron retail park is a B&Q warehouse and a Wickes DIY.

On the border with Frimley, there is a retail park known as Blackwater Retail Park (Formerly Farnborough Gate), with such shops as Halfords, TK Maxx, Comet, Currys, Mamas and Papas and Outfit.

Abbey

The town is home to Farnborough Abbey, located in the heart of Farnborough, which is a working abbey, currently home to six Benedictine monks, and houses the National Catholic Library, and the Gothic-inspired St Michael's Church. The Abbey has a programme of events to encourage visitors, including guided tours every Saturday at 3 pm, organ recitals on the first Sunday of each month at 3 pm. Fernand Cabrol was abbot in the early 20th century.

Education

State education

Primary

There are ten primary schools currently in Farnborough. In order of average pupil performance at the Key Stage 2 tests in Maths, English and Science they are: (the local authority average is 28.2 and national average is 27.8)

  • St Peter's Church of England Aided Junior School (30)
  • St Mark's Church of England Aided Primary School (30)
  • St Patrick's Catholic Primary School (29.7)
  • South Farnborough Junior School (28.3)
  • Grange Community Junior School (27.8),
  • Guillemont Junior School (27.7)
  • Tower Hill Primary School (26.2)
  • Cherrywood Community Primary School
  • Manor Junior School (26.1)
  • Fernhill Primary School (26)
  • St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School (25.9)

Secondary

There are four state secondary schools. All four are non-selective, mixed comprehensives, for pupils aged 11–16 with no sixth form. In order of the 5 GCSEs A-C score, based upon the resuls in 2009) they are: (The local authority is 55.4% and the national average is 49.8%)

  • The Wavell School (60%)
  • Cove School (52%)
  • Fernhill School (51%)
  • Oak Farm Community School (22%)

Surprisingly, given the good quality of state primary and excellent tertiary education provision in the town, as well as the relative affluence of the area, the state secondary provision is very weak indeed with three of the four secondary schools scoring below the local authority performance average at GCSE. In comparison with the comprehensive schools in the neighbouring towns of of Camberley, Farnham and Fleet the Rushmoor (Aldershot and Farnborough) comprehensive schools perform very badly indeed. In fact, Oak Farm Community School has the second worst GCSE point score in Hampshire and is on the list of worst performing schools at GCSE in the country. In 2006 Oak Farm scored an appalling 6% of pupils achieveing 5 GCSEs at grades A-C making it the ninth worst school in the country. Oak Farm has recently come off Ofsted 'special measures'; due to failure to improve and the surplus of school places in Farnborough (unsurprising due to the poor academic achievement) Oak Farm School is due to close in July 2011.

The poor performance of the four state Farnborough comprehensives is principally attributable to a couple of major problems: 1. Numbers of teachers: All four Farnborough comprehensives have significant problems attracting staff and retaining them. This is due to a number of factors: a) High house prices and cost of living in the Northern Hampshire commuter belt. b) Farnborough is surrounded on three sides by Surrey; teachers in Surrey qualify for higher salaries (Outer-London Weighting) whilst teachers in Farnborough schools do not. c) The current poor reputation of the schools. d) The teaching-career dead-end of being in a school which doesn't have a sixth form and therefore provides no opportunity to teach to 'A' level. 2. The shrinking number of children in Farnborough since the 1970s (Farnborough was a population boom town after World War II until the 1970s) has meant reduced pupil numbers and consequently smaller school budgets which have been unable to cope with large and dated school buildings, leaving many of them tired and tatty looking, adding to the feeling of decay and decline.

Tertiary

Tertiary education in Farnborough is excellent. The town is home to The Sixth Form College, Farnborough, which draws in around 3,000 students aged 16–19 from the surrounding area. In July 2002 the College was one of the first four colleges in the country to be awarded Learning and Skills Beacon status. Ofsted has judged the college as ‘outstanding’ in all areas in its last inspection report. The college has also won three annual Beacon awards in recent years for its teaching of Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry. Currently the College has (by some measures) the best ‘A’-level results in Hampshire and is considered one of the best sixth form colleges in the country.

Farnborough College of Technology is a further-education institution specialising in BTEC, A-level and vocational courses for students aged +16.

Independent secondary schools

There are two independent Roman Catholic secondary schools in Farnborough. Both are single-sex, selective and include sixth forms. 1. Farnborough Hill[23] (Girls). Currently the best GCSE results in Hampshire with a 5 GCSE A-C pass rate of 100% 2. Salesian College(Boys) in South Farnborough. Currently joint best GCSE results in Hampshire with a 5 GCSE A-C pass rate of 100% in 2008.

Higher education

There are no higher education institutions in Farnborough. The town is nevertheless well-served by several relatively local universities, all of which lie with 30 km (19 miles) of the town :-

Town centre

The centre of Farnborough, comprising the Kingsmead, Queensmead and Princesmead shopping precincts, was described as an abomination by local councillors[24] and the town itself has been described as "kind of dull".[24] The central business district has suffered from an array of outdated buildings and retail precincts dating from the late-1960s to the mid-1980s. In February 2007, in a bid to address these perceptions, Rushmoor Borough Council unveiled plans to radically alter the centre over the next two decades. The town centre study[25] outlines major changes to the council offices, Farnborough's main railway station, the local road network and the continuation of the improvements to Farnborough's town centre, including the development of a Discovery Centre (a Hampshire County Council initiative aimed at improving libraries in the county).

Work is underway to construct a new retail area with entertainment complex. Several new blocks of flats have been built adjacent to the town centre and in new builds and building refurbishments on the airfield itself.[citation needed]

One much-mooted idea is for the development of a major national air museum to be situated there, taking advantage of the town's aviation heritage.[citation needed]

Farnborough Leisure Centre has a swimming pool, gym, indoor bowling, squash courts and ten pin bowling.

Sport

Football

The football club, Farnborough F.C. (known as Farnborough Town FC until 2007),[26] play in the Conference South. As Farnborough Town F.C., the team came to national prominence in 2003 when they reached the 4th round of the FA Cup, where they played the previous season's Cup winners Arsenal at Highbury. They were drawn to play the tie at home but was switched on police advice. The match was won 5-1 by Arsenal. As Farnborough F.C they have won the British Gas Business South and West and Premier division and got to the final of the Hampshire Senior cup against Basingstoke but lost. The town's other two clubs are Cove and Farnborough North End. The former play in the Southern Counties League with the latter playing in the Wessex League.

The area has produced a number of first-class footballers including Glyn Bromige who went on to play with distinction for Portsmouth and Basingstoke Town.

Rugby

Established in 1915 (originally as the Royal Aircraft Factory Rugby Union Football Club) Farnborough Rugby Football Club[27] is primarily a rugby union club based at Tile Barn Close in Farnborough. They play in Hampshire Division 1. They also have a Minis and Juniors section which caters for boys from 5 to 19 years of age and girls from 5 to 12 years of age. In the summer 2007 season they also fielded a successful rugby league team, winning the Co-op Southern Conference competition in their first year of entering.

Cricket

The main cricket club in Farnborough is Cove Cricket Club.[28] The club, first established in 1935, has steadily grown from its original “village cricket team” to the present day position of a leading club side not only in the area but also in Hampshire. It fields five senior sides on a Saturday including an Academy XI playing in the Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League and one side on a Sunday playing a combination of league and friendly games. For many years now Cove have invested heavily into establishing a successful colts section to develop club players of the future as well as District and County representative teams. The investment has seen the number of qualified coaches treble in the last couple of years. In 2007 Cove established a mini's section, providing cricket related fun on a Monday evening for players aged 4 to 7. In 2008 Cove launched a Cricket Academy with the objective of developing the technical ability and all-round game knowledge of future 1st XI players. Cove run boys teams at U9, U11, U13, and U15 and girls teams at U13 and U15. In addition to the on field activities, Cove work hard to encourage the players families to become part of the club and run several family oriented social evenings throughout the year.

Another cricket team, the "Frogmore Amateur Cricket Club", currently based in nearby Frogmore are planning a relocation to Farnborough.

Other sports

Camberley and Farnborough Hockey Club[29] play men and women's field hockey in nearby Camberley (Kings International College), but draw many players from the region.

Fleet and Farnborough Chess Club competes in several divisions of the Surrey Border League.

Farnborough Lawn Tennis club runs seven table tennis teams that play in the Aldershot and District Table Tennis League.

Gallery

  • Kingsmead
    Kingsmead
  • Another view of Kingsmead
    Another view of Kingsmead
  • Farnborough Lesiure Centre
    Farnborough Lesiure Centre
  • A street in Farnborough
    A street in Farnborough

Twinned towns

Farnborough is twinned with:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 'Parishes: Farnborough', A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 4 (1911), pp. 15–18. Date accessed: 1 October 2008.
  2. ^ http://www.francisfrith.com/frimley/
  3. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/media/adobepdf/e/6/10walksaroundfarnborough_1.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2038353_barracks_and_airport_provide_location_for_bond_film Barracks and Airport provide location for Bond film
  5. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=168
  6. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1928
  7. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1929
  8. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1900
  9. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1902
  10. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1927
  11. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1940
  12. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1939
  13. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1926
  14. ^ http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1938
  15. ^ http://www3.hants.gov.uk/CarolLeversha/aboutme.htm?memid=ymcocl
  16. ^ http://www3.hants.gov.uk/JohnWall/aboutme.htm?memid=ymcojw
  17. ^ http://www3.hants.gov.uk/RozMuschamp/aboutme.htm?memid=ymcomu
  18. ^ Farnborough News and Mail
  19. ^ Farnborough Business Park
  20. ^ Bluhalo
  21. ^ Orcare
  22. ^ Fluor
  23. ^ Farnborough Hill
  24. ^ a b Guardian 20 Oct 2007 p. 120
  25. ^ "Farnborough town centre study". Rushmoor District Council. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  26. ^ Farnborough F.C.
  27. ^ Farnborough RFC
  28. ^ Cove Cricket Club
  29. ^ Camberley and Farnborough Hockey Club

External links

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