Farnham Common

Last updated

Farnham Common
Buckinghamshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Farnham Common
Location within Buckinghamshire
OS grid reference SU961850
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SLOUGH
Postcode district SL2
Dialling code 01753
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Buckinghamshire
51°33′20″N0°36′47″W / 51.555653°N 0.612954°W / 51.555653; -0.612954

Farnham Common is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, 3 miles north of Slough and 3 miles south of Beaconsfield, on the A355 road. It adjoins the ancient woodland of Burnham Beeches, has an area of 2.5 miles and a population of around 6,000. It is in the civil parish of Farnham Royal.

Contents

History

The Church of St John the Evangelist Church of St John the Evangelist, Farnham Common - geograph.org.uk - 21292.jpg
The Church of St John the Evangelist

Farnham Royal [1] was the main village with its church of St Mary's, shops, cottages and village pump situated in the centre junction of the cross roads. Farnham Common was known as 'Up End', being the common land of the parish where the livestock was grazed at certain times of the year. As this common area became more populated it became known as Farnham Common.

Farnham Common is on the border of Burnham Beeches, the well known Beech forest owned by the City of London Corporation, having been given to the people of London as a place in the country for their recreation and pleasure. [2] In the 1920s it was very common for coach loads of Londoners to come down for the day at weekends having tea at the tea rooms and enjoying the donkey rides.

A few of the large old houses still remain such as Yew Place, Farnham Park House and the home of Caldicott. Yew Place was formerly known as The Rectory, part of which dates back to the time of King John. The original farmhouse was given to a coachman in the service of the Earl of Warwick. The Chase, now known as Farnham Park House, was owned by Mr Carr Gomme, a very influential member of the community, being one of the main organisers of fund-raisers for the building of St John's Church. The house passed into the hands of Sir Gomer Berry, later Lord Kemsley, who had the organ dismantled from Farnham Park House and gave it to St John's Church. In 1948 Farnham Park house became the Farnham Park Rehabilitation Centre, a renowned sports injury hospital owned by the East Berkshire Health Authority until its closure in 1988. In 1996 Farnham Park House was re-established as a private residence.

Caldicott is large house situated on the edge of Burnham Beeches and was once owned by Mrs Harvey who gave money for the extension of Farnham Common Village Hall. Caldicott is now a boys' preparatory school.

A few names of note who have been associated with Farnham Common have been the artist Rex Whistler's mother, who lived in The Small House in Burnham Beeches; J. M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan and Enid Blyton, the children's author. In Burnham Beeches there is a large beech tree under which Felix Mendelssohn used to sit and compose some of his works in 'peaceful splendour'. Joan Hammond, the opera singer, lived in the part of the village known as Egypt. The Moore family live in the village and hold the record of three generations of one family representing Great Britain in the Olympic Games, Major George Moore having competed in 1948, Lieut. Col. John Moore, his son, in 1956, 1960 and 1964 and Lieut. Mark Moore, his grandson, in 1984. Lieut. Col. John Moore was appointed OBE for his services to skiing. Lois Allan invented Fuzzy Felt in her cottage in the village during World War II.

More recently, Burnham Beeches has been used as a film set for some of the Harry Potter films, [3] including the Order of the Phoenix and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Facilities

Burnham Beeches Burnham Beeches - geograph.org.uk - 411145.jpg
Burnham Beeches

A small high street includes numerous businesses, stores, eateries and shops.

The National Baseball & Softball Complex at Farnham Park is located just south of the village, between Farnham Royal and Slough. It is the home of the Great Britain Baseball and Great Britain Softball Olympic National Teams, and is the largest complex of its kind in the United Kingdom.

Transport

Road

Train

Bus

Air

Utilities

Broadband

Schools

Preparatory schools

Grammar school catchment

State schools

Notable inhabitants

Notable former inhabitants

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slough</span> Town in Berkshire, England

Slough is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021 Census, the population of the town was 143,184. In 2021, the wider Borough of Slough had a population of 158,500. Slough borders the ceremonial counties of Greater London and Buckinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckinghamshire</span> County of England

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes, and the county town is Aylesbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britwell</span> Human settlement in England

Britwell, often referred to as 'Crack City' amongst its residents, is a residential housing estate and civil parish in the north west of Slough, Berkshire, South East England. It is about 23 miles (37 km) west of Charing Cross, the centremost point of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cippenham</span> Human settlement in England

Cippenham is a suburb of Slough. Close by are the neighbouring towns and villages of Beaconsfield, Farnham Common, Burnham, Gerrards Cross, Stoke Poges, Windsor and Taplow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colnbrook</span> Village in Berkshire, England

Colnbrook is a village in the Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the Colne, the Colne Brook and Wraysbury River. These two streams have their confluence just to the southeast of the village. Colnbrook is centred 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the Slough town centre, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Windsor, and 19 miles (31 km) west of central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wexham</span> Human settlement in England

Wexham is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire in southern England. The parish includes part of the forest of Burnham Beeches. The separate parish of Wexham Court was created in 1974 from parts of the old Wexham parish that were transferred to the Borough of Slough in Berkshire. Wexham Park Hospital is a large hospital within the Wexham Court parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maidenhead</span> Market town in England

Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, the Maidenhead built-up area had a population of 67,375. The town is situated 27 miles (43 km) west of Charing Cross, London and 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of the county town of Reading. The town gives its name to the Maidenhead constituency, which extends beyond the town to also include various nearby villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaconsfield</span> Market town in Buckinghamshire, England

Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, 23+12 miles northwest of central London and 16 miles southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within five miles : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorney</span> Human settlement in England

Dorney is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It borders the River Thames to the west and south, and is bisected by the Jubilee River. In 2011 it had a population of 752. It is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) west of neighbouring Eton, which is a slightly larger parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnham, Buckinghamshire</span> Village in Buckinghamshire, England

Burnham is a large village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough, about 24 miles west of Charing Cross, London. It is probably best known for the nearby Burnham Beeches woodland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farnham Royal</span> Human settlement in England

Farnham Royal is a village and civil parish within Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, immediately north of Slough, and around 22 miles west of Charing Cross, Central London. Within the parish boundary is the village of Farnham Common and the hamlet of Farnham Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Bucks</span> Former non-metropolitan district in England

South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnham Beeches</span> Nature reserve in Buckinghamshire, England

Burnham Beeches is a 374.6-hectare (926-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated west of Farnham Common in the village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire. The southern half is owned by the Corporation of London and is open to the public. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnham railway station</span> Railway station serving the village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England

Burnham railway station is a railway station serving Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England, 20 miles 77 chains (33.7 km) from London Paddington and situated between Slough to the east and Taplow to the west. The station is in Haymill, a ward of western Slough, about half a mile to the south of Burnham proper. Originally in Buckinghamshire, the station transferred into the county of Berkshire when county boundaries were realigned in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaconsfield (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Beaconsfield is a constituency in Buckinghamshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Joy Morrissey of the Conservative Party. She succeeded Independent and former Conservative Dominic Grieve, whom she defeated following his suspension from the party. The constituency was established for the February 1974 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caldicott School</span> Preparatory school in Buckinghamshire, England

Caldicott Preparatory School is a prep school for boys aged 7–13 in southern Buckinghamshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dropmore Park</span>

Dropmore Park is a private estate located along Dropmore Road, north of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England, about 220 acres (89 ha) in size. The park with its buildings, including Dropmore House, have Grade I listed building status. Dropmore House is one of the most important buildings in south Buckinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorney Interchange</span> Road junction

The Thorney Interchange is a large motorway intersection in the UK, between the M4 and M25. It is one of the busiest motorway interchanges in the country. It lies on the edges of Buckinghamshire, Greater London and Berkshire, and is close to Surrey and Staines-upon-Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Slough</span> Borough and unitary authority in England

The Borough of Slough is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, Southern England. The borough is centred around the town of Slough and includes Langley. It forms an urban area with parts of Buckinghamshire and extends to the villages of Burnham, Farnham Royal, George Green, and Iver. Part of the district's area was in Buckinghamshire prior to the district's formation and in Middlesex until 1965.

References

  1. Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes for the publication "The Buckinghamshire Village Book" (1987)
  2. Map of Burnham Beeches
  3. Harry Potter Places
  4. Bus Timetable
  5. Caldicott School
  6. Dair House
  7. Girls Grammar catchment map
  8. Boys Grammar catchment map
  9. "Farnham Common Infant School". Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. Farnham Common Junior School

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Farnham Common at Wikimedia Commons