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Farnborough, Hampshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Farnborough | |
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| Population | 57147 (Census 2001) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Rushmoor |
| Shire county | Hampshire |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FARNBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | GU14 |
| Dial code | 01252/01276 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | Aldershot |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Hampshire | |
Farnborough is a town in the Hampshire borough of Rushmoor in South East England. It is perhaps best known as the home of the Farnborough Air Show which takes place once every two years. The town is home to Farnborough Aerodrome and the international headquarters of BAE Systems.
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Farnborough is situated in the northeast of Hampshire and near to the boundary with Surrey. The River Blackwater forms part of the boundary. It is located 53 km (33 miles) southwest of London.
Farnborough includes several small villages, including Cove and Southwood. 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 was founded in Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1066. The name is formed from Ferneberga which means 'fern hill'.
The town is the home of Saint Michael's Abbey. The Imperial Crypt there is the burial place of Napoleon III (1808 - 1873), Emperor of the French, and his wife Empress Eugenie (1826 - 1920) and their son Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial, who was killed in South Africa aged 23, on (1st June 1879) by the Zulus. The crypt of St Peter's Old Parish Church [1] is also believed to house the remains of many of the Earls of Anglesey.
There are multiple forms of public transport, most commonly the Public Bus.
London can be reached by rail or via the M3 motorway, which runs north of the town. The main road, named Farnborough Road, enters the town from Camberley to the north, and continues into Aldershot to the south.
Farnborough is served by several railway stations:
- Farnborough (Main) railway station for London Waterloo, Basingstoke, Southampton, Bournemouth and Salisbury.
- Farnborough North railway station for Reading, Guildford and Shalford.
- North Camp railway station for Reading, Guildford and Gatwick Airport.
- Ash Vale railway station for Camberley, Ascot, Aldershot, Farnham and Alton.
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 Cody. Cody, or Col Sam Cody as he was known, was one of the early pioneers of aviation. A monument to the first jet fighter 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, Sir Frank Whittle.
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. [2] 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.
Farnborough contains the following wards: Fernhill (Conservative), Grange (Liberal Democrat), Mayfield (Liberal Democrat), St. Johns (Liberal Democrat), West Heath (Conservative), Empress (Conservative), Cove & Southwood (Conservative)' Knellwood (Conservative) and St Marks (Liberal Democrat). The local MP is Gerald Howarth for Aldershot (Conservative) a shadow defence minister.
Farnborough is served by two free local papers, The Surrey Hampshire Star and The Courier, along with two locals available for purchase, The Farnborough Mail and the Farnborough News[3]. Also available in the area are local radio stations including Heart, Kestrel, The Eagle, 2 Ten and Garrison Radio. The local ITV region is Meridian who broadcast the local news from nearby Newbury
Adjacent to the airport there is a major development of the new Farnborough Business Park[4], which aims to have around 1.67 million sq ft 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, a Barons BMW and Mini dealership, a new aviation library and the refurbishing of the listed windtunnels on the site. Current tennants include: AgustaWestland, Imagine Homes, Red Hat, Autodesk and Defence Strategy & Solutions.
There are four main public secondary schools; The Wavell School, Cove School, Fernhill Secondary and Oak Farm Community School. There are also two private secondary schools; Salesian College (boys school) and Farnborough Hill Farnborough Hill School, Farnborough (girls school) both of which provide private sixth form education in expansion to the secondary schools. The town also is home to The Sixth Form College, Farnborough, which draws in around 3,000 students aged 16-19 from the surrounding area, as well as Farnborough College of Technology, specialises in GCSE's, A-levels and more vocational studies for students aged 16 onwards.
There are a small number of social clubs, pubs and bars. The Prince Of Wales pub located near Farnborough North Station appears in the drinking mans guide to pubs and has won many awards.
Farnborough has three main shopping centres; Kingsmead and Queensmead (which are currently undergoing redevelopment) and Princesmead. Nearby is a leisure centre with a bowling alley, a large B&Q Warehouse, a PC World and a retail park. Out of the town centre is Farnborough Gate Retail Park which includes McDonalds Drive Through, Next, TK Maxx, Halfords, Currys and Comet along with North Camp's shopping district which, although it has a few major high street names like Boots, mainly consists of independent retailers.
In February 2007 Rushmoor Borough Council unveiled plans to radically alter the centre over the next two decades, in the hope of changing peoples perception of Farnborough being a dull town to visit. The town centre study[5] outlines major changes to the council offices, Farnborough Main Train Station, the local road network and the continuation of the improvements to Farnboroughs rather drab town centre, including the development of a Discovery Centre ( a Hampshire County Council initiative aimed at improving libraries in the county ). However many locals are sceptical about the plans as they have been hearing empty promises of the town centre redevelopment for over a decade and even now with an actual start date announced many are still reluctant to believe that it will actually be any good.
The football team Farnborough Town F.C. who currently play in the Conference South League are based in the town.Farnborough Town FC The team came to national prominence in 2003 when they reached the 4th round of the FA Cup.
Farnborough Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club is based at Tile Barn Close in Farnborough. They play in Hampshire Division 2 (2005/2006) although have recently been promoted to Hampshire Division One for the 2006/2007 season. 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.
Legendary cricket team FACC currently based in nearby Frogmore are planning a relocation to Farnborough.
Camberley and Farnborough Hockey Club play in nearby Camberley (Kings International College), but draw many players from the region.
Farnborough also includes some of the surrounding villages. Cove is mainly housing however there is a village centre, although this is mainly estate agents it does have a One Stop, a chemist, a floristry, takeway resteraunts and an eat in, Jewson, a car dealership and a few more specialist shops along with a church. North Camp is again mainly residential however it does have a small town centre with mainly specialist shops. Rafborough is a housing estate near the aerodrome that was originally constructed to house RAF staff, but is now private. Southwood is a large housing estate which also contains a council run Golf Course, two pubs (The Crab and Anchor and The Monkey Puzzle which is next to a small hotel) A Morrisons Supermarket and a Business park. The Business Park contains many large business, including Nokia and Zurich. It is also home to a Brakes distribution centre.
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Farnborough is twinned with:
