Farnborough, Hampshire
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Template:Infobox England place with map Farnborough is a town in the Rushmoor borough of Hampshire 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. The town is also the international headquarters of BAE Systems.
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Geography
Farnborough is situated in the north east of Hampshire and near to the boundary with Surrey. The River Blackwater forms part of the boundary. It is located 31 miles (50 km) west south-west of Charing Cross.
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.
History
The name is formed from Ferneberga which means 'fern hill'. Farnborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.
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 France, and his wife Empress Eugenie (1826 - 1920). The crypt of St Peter's Old Parish Church [1] is also believed to house the remains of many of the Earls of Anglesey.
Transport
Image:Arms-farnborough.jpg 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.
Rail
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.
Air
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.
Against strong opposition by the local community, Farnborough Airfield was turned into a business airport within the last few years. Opposition to the business airport has been chronicled, perhaps not always neutrally, by Blackwater Environmental Justice. FARA was formed by the local community to oppose the airport expansion. The airport is operated by TAG Aviation. October 2005, TAG applied to double their number of flights at weekends.
Since applying to double the number of weekend and bank holiday flights, the opposition has grown much stronger, 1500 people objected, and now stands (according to the local press) at over 3,000.
A small section of the local community welcomed the business airport believing it safeguarded the heritage of the site (the first manned flight in the UK), and, given the fact that this site has been used for Military flying for decades, perhaps having flights controlled by the CAA instead of the MOD would be a blessing in disguise.
Farnborough Airport Consultative Committee (FACC) meets three times a year to discuss and hopefully resolve problems caused by the airport to the local community. It should comprise one-third each: airport operator and users, local councils and local community, but the local community is under-represented. Reports of the proceedings are usually covered by the local press ('Farnborough Mail' or 'Farnborough News') and 'Indymedia UK' [2] (search for FACC or Farnborough Airport).
Education
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 (girls school) both of which provide private sixth form education in expansion to the secondary schools. The town also has a Sixth Form College, which draws in around 2500 students aged 16-18 from the surrounding area, as well as Farnborough Technology College, which specialises in more vocational studies for students aged 16 onwards.
Sport
The football team Farnborough Town F.C. who currently play in the Conference South League are based in the town.
Farnborough Rugby Football Club [3], 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 thriving Minis and Juniors section [4] which caters for boys from 5 to 19 years of age and girls from 5 to 12 years of age.
External links
- A guide to Farnborough
- Rushmoor Borough Council
- Farnborough International Airshow - official website
- St. Michael's Abbey homepage
- Farnborough Town FC - official website for Farnborough Town FC
- 'Surrey-Hants Star' - local newspaper
- Farborough Business Directory - A directory of Farnborough based businesses.
- The Sixth Form College, Farnborough
- The Farnborough `Elite`
- Weekend flights to double at Farnborough Airport? de:Farnborough (Hampshire)