Village History
The village name
derives from Fearnbiorginga, meaning village among the
ferns on the hill. Records date from 862ad when Ethelbert, King of
Wessex,
gave away 950 acres at Farnborough. Although the village was not
mentioned in the Domesday Book, the manor existed in the middle ages
and was held in the 1200's by Simon de Montfort.
The village developed
on the main road from London to Hastings which
originally ran via Church Road and Old Hill. The George pub existed
in the
16th century and was used as a coaching inn. Coaches and horses
were later accommodated at the Change of Horses.
The centre of
the village is a conservation area with quaint and historic
buildings dating back to the 17th Century. Church Road retains the
rural
character of the past and the path to the Lychgate connects church
and village.
The flint and brick church of St Giles the Abbot was rebuilt after
a storm
in 1639 when the large yew was planted outside the west door.
The north of the
village was developed in the early 1900's with roads
named after famous people. In 1927 the A21 bypass took the main road
out of the village. The Ladycroft Way development (1960's) and
Elgal Close (1970's) completed the development between High Street
and Farnborough Way.
Well - That's
what it says on the plaque in the village. But as we all know
the history of anywhere is about the people who live in the place,
and
Farnborough Village is no exception.
A village church
is a strange place really. We start our lives there when
we are Christened, then there's the joy and expectation of our marriage,
and finally we are laid to rest there, a whole life punctuated by
the Church.
But parish records provide a unique snapshot of village life; they
show
the evolution of families, and the evolution of our communities.
We are lucky that
many of our village families have spent time and
effort documenting the history of their lives throughout the generations,
not least of which is the Dennard family, many generations of whom
are
resting in the peaceful surroundings of St Giles Churchyard, and we
are
immensely grateful to Tony Dennard for providing the Society with
a huge
amount of documentation regarding his family history.
We are also looking
to the other well-established families in the Village
to provide pictures and other information to help us build and enhance
a history of our village and the people who have helped to make our
community so unique.
