I am pleased to report that Diane Bradbury has agreedto assume the responsibilities of Janet Radley as theDay Visit and Tour Organiser. Diane will initially work withJanet to ensure a smooth transition and she is alreadyactively involved. Janet has taken over from TandyMurphy the responsibilities of Secretary. This is anopportune moment to welcome Diane and to thankJanet and Tandy for their past hard work andcommitment.

Another important change is that Andy MacLeod hasbeen appointed Deputy Chairman in place of DavidBerry who wished to resign that appointment butthankfully, to remain on the Committee with responsibilityfor Membership. Our thanks go to David, for his pastefforts and continuing in his role as MembershipSecretary. Andy has passed his responsibility asChairman of the Planning Committee to PeterBridgeman. Peter has served on the Planning

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Ford Lane, Lower Bourne and the ford

No. MC15

FarnboroughAirport......................

FarnhamConservation andManagement Plan ..

Who Does What......

HODs.......................

The Cluster GroupMeeting .................

PedestrianisationReferendum ...........

Planning Report.....

New Website

Coffee Mornings....

Buildings ofMerit.......................

AGM May 2014......

Lectures in 2014....

Thank-youand awelcome................

Potholes................

Membership..........

Autumn 2014 Newsletter

Committee for many years and is therefore well versed in planning matters. A pastmember of the Committee, Roger Steel, was unanimously elected to re-join theCommittee during the course of the Annual General Meeting.

The Annual General Meeting in May, was well attended and resulted in livelydebates on a number of subjects. Most of the points raised will be dealt withelsewhere within this newsletter. At the end of the meeting there was totalagreement with the view that the Society continues to discharge its responsibilitiesand represents the true feelings of members. It was of considerableencouragement to the Committee to receive this acknowledgement of their efforts.

A meeting has been held with F&C Reit, and the Agent acting for the owners of TheWoolmead together with their team of architects. Outline drawings of the possibleinitial options available were shown, and we were able to make some commentsand express general views. Further discussions will be taking place and we arehopeful that we will be given the opportunity to influence the design before publicconsultation takes place. It is hoped that this form of early and mutually supportivediscussion will at least avoid the extremes of the East Street/ Brightwells disaster.We remain optimistic that this relationship will prove constructive in the future.

Finally, I remain confident that we will continue to develop the operationaleffectiveness and the reputation of the Society as a force for good in the Farnhamarea. We would be unable to do this without the continuing support of all ourmembers.

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FARNBOROUGH AIRPORT By Mike Bryan

Farnborough Airport’s owner-operators have plans for expansion of flying, andearlier this year ran a consultation in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority(CAA). Details are available online at http://www.consultation.tagfarnborough.com.This is not about tinkering with flight-paths for little noticeable difference. It’s aboutsetting the principles for potentially massive expansion of Farnborough, perhapsas a passenger airport using predominantly larger and noisier aircraft. This is verysignificant to Farnham residents’ quality of life in the long term.

Farnborough Airport is owned and run by TAG Aviation, a specialist provider ofbusiness-jet facilities. Airspace operations and control near Farnborough arecomplex. Although there were only 23,000 movements in 2012, TAG already haspermission for up to 50,000 aircraft movements per year at Farnborough.

TAG briefed Farnham residents at Sandy Hill on 23 April that they hope to expandoperations towards the 50,000 limit by 2019. But their strategy for Farnboroughdevelopment runs out in 2019. Broadly, if they can’t double the volume of businessjet activity in the next 5 years, commercial pressures could lead them to sell theairfield for commercial airline operations serving London.

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At page B22 of the Consultation papers: ‘CAA guidance for airspace change doesnot provide a method for assessing tranquillity. ..…‘You may wish to consider thepotential effect on tranquillity when providing feedback.’ From a Farnhamperspective, my own analysis of the consultation papers led to 4 main points.Firstly and significant to residents of Folly Hill, Sandy Hill and Upper Hale,proposals for flight arrivals at Runway 06 (at Figure B10) include authorising flightbelow 1000 ft above mean sea level (amsl) from the Folly Hill and Odiham Roadjunction, where the ground is approximately 600 ft high. That implies some aircrafton north-easterly approach to Farnborough flying at 400 ft above ground in thatarea. That frightening prospect is unnecessary and unwanted.

Secondly, there is no apparent reason for allowing flight between approximately700 and 1700 ft in the area above central Farnham, between Rowledge,Wrecclesham, Dippenhall, Upper Hale, Hale, Runfold, Compton and The Bourne(displayed on Figure B10 as 1000-2000 ft amsl). That would be unnecessary andunwanted. By not establishing a protection zone around those areas shows adisregard for Farnham’s population centres.

Thirdly, in order to shorten ground tracks, and thus reduce CO2 emissions andnoise footprints, flight arrivals from the north-west, towards the predominantly usedRunway 24 (at Figures B11 and E2) should primarily be routed direct to the startpoint for the finals turn rather than to a runway-parallel holding leg. Then anymultiple arrivals could be separated by fanning them all out to the right (i.e. makingthem join the holding orbit earlier, as currently depicted and proposed).

Finally, the consultation did not include details of any noise abatement procedures,to significantly reduce the impact of increased flying activity. The plans do notinclude maximum power settings related to aircraft altitude and distances fromtake-off. This is routine for airports in city areas out of consideration for localresidents, but has not been included here yet. This omission must be correctedand there should be further public consultation in that regard.

The closing date for public comments was 12 May 2014, and the Farnham Societycommented before that date. A first report will be published in August summarisingresponses to the consultation. A further report will be published in the first quarterof 2015, giving more details of proposals under consideration following theconsultation.

FARNHAM CONSERVATION AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN (FCAMP)By David Berry

Local authorities have a statutory duty to manage conservation areas. Waverleyhas responsibility for the Farnham Town Centre Conservation Area, which stretchesfrom The William Cobbett pub to Farnham Castle, and westwards as far as theMemorial Hall. Councillor Carole Cockburn chairs a management groupcomprising councillors, council officers, and members of other interested partiesincluding the Farnham Society. The group, known as FCAMP, is currentlyoverseeing a number of on-going projects in the Conservation Area.

The Bishop’s Steps run alongside Castle Street up to the Castle entrance. A projectstarted around two years ago to restore and improve the steps and develop thegarden area on the eastern side of the pathway between the steps and the Castlewall. The financial difficulties and change of ownership at the Castle resulted in asubstantial delay. Repairs were made to the steps in 2012, with new paving andedging. Electrical supplies for the lighting on the steps have been installed.Members will have noticed the work in progress on the retaining wall, and bricklaying should be complete by the time this newsletter is distributed. A new gardenerhas started work, and it is hoped that the garden will be completed by the end ofSeptember.

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A project to de-clutter the town of unnecessary signage has stalled. As of 18months ago only seven signs had been removed. Additional funding is needed tocontinue the work and a further survey of the town will be carried out to prioritisefurther removals. Surrey County Council have expressed support, but there aresafety issues to be addressed.

Maintenance of the ‘fingerpost’ pedestrian street signage produced a survey lastSeptember which identified redundant signs to be removed, and signs to berepaired and corrected. No action has as yet been taken following the survey.Funding was originally offered by Farnham Town Council, but it is uncertain whenthat funding will be available for work to proceed. A project for the signage ofFarnham yard has funding in place and designs approved. Work continues toestablish the historical provenance of names like ‘Fishy Stevens Yard’.

Shopfront guidelines have now been approved, though this has taken timebecause of the need that Waverley consult with the other villages under theirauthority. The group has not seen the details or recommendations, but were aftera limited colour palate and style being used in the Heritage areas, and a ban onplastic or gaudy signage. These new guidelines can only be put into effect onchange of usage or ownership, and will not apply retrospectively.

The large bollards which were installed in the Farnham Library entrance are now tobe replaced with ‘Heritage’ cast iron bollards more in keeping with the town.Plans to renovate the Culver Room at Farnham Library have been approved bySurrey CC, and work should start shortly.

Improvements to the footpath through the Robert Dyas yard, between the Centralcar park and Downing Street, entail replacement of the fence and new surfacing onthe footpath. The path is a permissive right of way which is privately owned andpaid for by Waverley (by a peppercorn rent with conditions). There are legal issuesto be addressed between the various stakeholders before work can proceed.

HIDDEN ART IN FARNHAM - Behind the police station site hoardings thesecarved stone panels (1963) depict Farnham’s history of deer, cows, sheep, hopsand bishops, and should re-appear on the new walls of the Churchill Homes flats.

By Rachel Fenner By Carole Hodgson

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WHO DOES WHAT IN THE FARNHAM SOCIETYFor email addresses see current Members’ Programme card

PRESIDENT Sir Ray Tindle The Old Courthouse,Union Road,Farnham GU9 7PT

735667

VICE-PRESIDENT Michael Blower Runfold House,Runfold St. George,Farnham GU10 1PL

782965

CHAIRMAN Alan Gavaghan Linden House, Compton Way,Moor Park,Farnham GU10 1QT

724714

VICE-CHAIRMAN RosemaryThomas

1 High Park Road,Farnham GU9 7JJ

714297

VICE-CHAIRMAN Andy MacLeod 11A Menin Way,Farnham GU9 8DY

726823

SECRETARY Janet Radley 13 Lickfolds RoadRowledgeGU10 4AF

794212

MEMBERSHIPSECRETARY

David Berry 16 Monks Well,Farnham GU10 1RH

781801

TREASURER John Cattell 12 Hale PlaceFarnham GU9 9BJ

715048

Planning Michael Clements 42 Sandrock Hill Road,Wrecclesham,Farnham GU10 4RJ

448744

Social events,lectures

Gloria Dyche Hankley Wood,Thursley Road,Elstead GU8 6LW

702449

Planning Krish Kakkar 8 Douglas Grove,Farnham GU10 3HP

794206

Heritage Open Days Georgina Bridges 106 Greenfield RoadFarnham GU9 8TQ

07595466810

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Traffic management Michael Murphy Sirmoor, 29 Shortheath Road,Farnham GU9 8SN

Planning Peter Bridgeman 8 Vale Close, Lower BourneFarnham GU10 3HR

Heritage Open days Erica Wilkinson Powderham House,Dippenhall,Farnham GU10 5EB

Newsletter Simon Bradbury 70 Middle Bourne Lane, LowerBourne, Farnham GU10 3NJ

Committee member Roger Steel 34 Lynch RoadFarnham GU9 8BY

We welcome some new members to our committee.

Has kindly offered to coordinate and manage Heritage Open Days in Farnham.

Has worked for 50 years as an arboricultural lecturer and consultant, retiring in2005. He and his wife Leonie have lived in Farnham since 1988. Peter joined thePlanning committee in 2010 and has now been elected to the executive commitee,where he is taking on the Chairmanship of the Planning Committee.

Returns to the committee, having stood down as a committee member a few yearsago to become a councillor representing Farnham Moor Park on Waverley BC andFarnham Town Council. He has been involved in local issues since retirement asdirector of his pharmaceuticals and healthcare company.

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HODS 2014 AUTUMN NEWSLETTER by Georgina Bridges

Every year on four days in September, rightacross the country, buildings of every age,style and function throw open their doors. Itis a once-a-year chance to discoverarchitectural treasures and enjoy a widerange of tours, events and activities thatbring local history and culture to life. Allentirely free of charge!

2014 marks the 20th Anniversary of HeritageOpen Days. It’s become Britain’s largest

grass-roots cultural event, organised by a huge network of people who share apassion for places, history and culture. Locally, over 1,400 organisations and some40,000 volunteers organise thousands of site openings and events, jointlyattracting over 1 million visitors.

The Farnham Society is very proud to havebrought HODS to Farnham. Each year ateam of dedicated and imaginative FarnhamSociety volunteers work tirelessly to bring theevent to fruition and each year it grows!HODS is generously co-funded by FarnhamBorough Council.

This year we are focusing on Bricks and TheFarnham Pottery takes centre stage. With agrant from the South Street Trust the Pottery

has created an exciting 4 day program of events, celebrating all things brick andterracotta. The Pugmill Bakehouse will be firing up their wood-fired brick oven, therewill be workshops, talks by experts, an exhibition and a pottery trail. In fact there isso much going on that its impossible to mention it all here, so please visit theirwebsite www.318ceramics.co.uk. Also on the brick theme, there will be a talk at theMuseum of Farnham by historian Angela Peers-David, who will be introducing ‘a

Brief History of Brickmaking - an intriguingjourney through Farnham’s built heritage’.

Throughout the summer the Museum ofFarnham has been running the ‘FindingFarnham Community Dig’, on the HODSSaturday join them to discover what wasunearthed. There will be a variety ofdifferent living history displays and hands-

12 Tanyard Square

24 West Street

Farnham Pottery

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on activities led by experts, DavidGraham and Dr Anne Sassin will presenta round-up of all the finds at 4pm.There will be tea and tours going on atthe Castle on Thursday afternoon.Come and discover the fascinatinghistory of the Bishops Palace with theCastle Guides and enjoy a delicious teain the Great Hall, with the FarnhamChamber Music Society creating justthe right atmosphere.

On Friday morning we are proud topresent a new HODS initiative “VirtualWalks for the Less Mobile”.Accompanied by projected images,Michael Blower and Angela Peers-David present their usual walking toursof Red Lion Lane and the architectureof Castle Street respectively, but fromthe comfort of the Farnham Maltings,

no walking required! On Saturday the Maltings will also be putting on a pop-upcraft workshop for all ages. Drop in and get creative.

To mark this year’s centenary of the Great War, St Andrew’s infant school andFrensham Heights will have exhibitions about life in their schools during WW1, aswell as other activities.

The Antiques Warehouse in Runfold is housed within stunning Elizabethan tithebarns, and they will be pulling out all the stops for HODS this year. There will bedisplays of restoration techniques such as gilding, caning and french polishing bymaster craftsmen, tea and homemade cake, live piano music and a mini ‘AntiquesRoadshow’. Why not bring your treasures to be identified and valued by specialistGordon Patrick.

This is a small taste of the full program. We’ve about 30 properties open with allkinds of tours and events going on, there are lots of walking tours, performances,workshops, talks and exhibitions. For full information the HODs Brochure can bedownloaded at www.

With so many fine buildings, a vivid history and a thriving crafts community it is onlyright that HODS should grow and grow. We are always looking for new properties,so if you’d like your property to become part of the program, or if you’d like to jointhe organising team, please get in touch. farnhamhods@gmail.com or callGeorgina on 07595 466810.

Farnham Castle

The Maltings

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THE CLUSTER GROUP MEETING OF LOCAL SOCIETIES

Twice each year, several of the local civic societies meet up as a ‘Cluster Group’ todiscuss areas of common interest. The last meeting was in June, and includedrepresentatives from the Farnham Society, Farnborough Society; Fleet and ChurchCrookham Society; Odiham Society; and Yateley Society. Discussion included thefollowing matters of concern.

The planned expansion at Farnborough airport, which will affect several areas inFleet.

Large numbers of new houses are planned in several areas. There are plans for athousand or more houses in Fleet. A large development is proposed inFarnborough at Sun Park, a former military site. Yateley are anticipating anapplication for one hundred and fifty houses. In addition, there are proposals formore than four hundred houses in Badshot Lea, which comes within the FarnhamSociety’s area of interest.

In Odiham most applications are for infill housing within the village. As they are inconservation areas there are already restrictions in place.

Hart local plan is currently being written. Hart Council is cooperating with SurreyHeath and Rushmoor Councils. Worryingly, there was no mention of Waverley’sinvolvement. Hart’s plan does not yet offer a firm proposal for numbers of houses,with several different figures having been put forward.

There was discussion as to whether a neighbourhood plan would be of any valuein the absence of a local plan or core strategy. It was suggested that aneighbourhood plan could contain several options, each based upon differentnumbers of new houses. A neighbourhood plan for Odiham is to be prepared.

On traffic matters, Yateley were aware of a proposal for a junction improvement onthe A30 at the Eversley road junction.

At the time of the meeting, the Farnham Pedestrianisation referendum was comingto the end of the period for voting. The Fleet and Church Crookham representativeknew nothing of the referendum, even though she works in Farnham.

The Odiham and Yateley Societies each have a current major project. Yateley arestaging an exhibition for the centenary of WW1. The plan is to open the exhibitionlater this year, initially in a local school, with a view to moving on to other venueslater. Odiham will hold a display in 2015 marking the 800th anniversary of theMagna Carta. They also reported that they now have a digitised tithe map.

The Farnborough and Yateley societies both hold regular members’ meetings,though in the case of Yateley they are poorly attended. Yateley hold Summer andWinter social gatherings for their members.

The Fleet and Yateley societies are both involved in wildlife type activities, withYateley members forming a conservation team to assist rangers on Yateleycommon on Sunday mornings.

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Yateley have had requests from local schools for assistance with local history, buthave been unable to find people to accept the task.

The cluster group will hold another meeting, towards the end of the year.

PS The two Fleet and Church Crookham representatives were wearing sweaterswith Society emblems. Is this something our society ought to consider?

PEDESTRIANISATION

Jeremy Hunt initiated a referendum on his proposal to address Farnham towncentre’s traffic problems by means of part-time pedestrianisation involving sharedspace. A public meeting was called, at short notice, in June to discuss the idea.The initial meeting was heavily oversubscribed, and two subsequent meetings wereheld, one immediately after the initial meeting and another the following week.Concerns were expressed that the wording of the referendum was poor so peoplewere not sure what they were being asked to support; and that there was noalternative route proposed for vehicular traffic displaced from the town centre.Shared pedestrian and vehicle use for Downing Street, The Borough and thesouthernmost part of Castle Street was shown in a diagram.

4,327 were in favour of part-time pedestrianisation by means of shared road spaceas suggested in the accompanying plan, and 3928 voted against. Of the 30,542people entitled to vote, however, only 27.26% took part in the referendum, meaningthat just 14.17% of eligible electors voted in favour.

Surrey County Council published a paper on Farnham town centre traffic morethan twenty years ago, and concluded that closure of town centre roads to trafficwould require the construction of new roads outside the town centre.

OLD AND NEW - the old Town Hall in Castle Street and the new Town Hall inSouth Street built in 1904

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PLANNING REPORT by Peter Bridgeman

As this is my first report since taking over as Chairman of the Planning Committee,I should like to take this opportunity to thank Andy Macleod for his excellent term ofoffice and to congratulate him on being elevated to Vice Chairman of the Society.This report aims to keep members up to date with planning issues but, as these areturbulent times in the planning world, there are many fast-changing situations andby the time you read this the situation may well have altered.

As many of you will know, there is ever-increasing pressure and Governmentencouragement to build more houses, both to stimulate the economy and providemuch-needed homes. One of the important roles of the Society is to attempt to seethat this is carried out without adversely affecting the rich heritage of Farnham andalso so as not to overstretch the already creaking infrastructure which includesschools, roads, waste disposal and the environment. We have to accept moreresidential accommodation but we shall endeavour to see that Farnham in thefuture is as good a place to live in as it is today.

This extra pressure to build more homes stems largely from the Government’sNational Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) introduced in 2012. Nationally this hasalready resulted in an increase in applications. Historically and currently about 80%of applications are allowed, with the remaining 20% refused; however many ofthese go to appeal. The rate of success on appeal has risen sharply over the lasttwo years by some 50% for appeals heard at full planning inquiries. The mainreason for this increase in successful appeals is that only some 14% of localplanning authorities have updated their local plans in line with the NPPF. WaverleyBorough Council is one such authority with no up-to-date plan. You will alreadyhave received or should soon be receiving a questionnaire from Waverley BCseeking your views on the All should read thiscarefully and respond accordingly. To meet Government guidelines it will likely benecessary for more than double the number of new homes to be built in Waverleyfrom 230 at present to 470 per year, which equates to 8460 by the end of planperiod, 2031.

One of the most important options in this consultation is the use of Dunsfold Parkfor housing. This former WWII aerodrome covers some 250 ha (625 acres) and isabout 3 miles south-west of Cranleigh. 86% of this is brownfield land - the largestarea in the Borough. Basically, the more houses that are allocated to Dunsfold, theless there will need to be on greenfield sites in Farnham and other parts of theBorough.

The options are as follows:- (their order not mine!)

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1. Build 1800 homes at Dunsfold and 2650 on greenfields sites, including 1500in Farnham (31%)

2. Not build at Dunsfold and build 4450 on greenfield sites, including 2700 inFarnham (45%)

3. Build 3400 at Dunsfold with 1200 on Greenfield sites, including 700 inFarnham (21%)

4. Build 2600 at Dunsfold and 1900 on Greenfield sites, including 1000 inFarnham (25%)

The Society is disappointed that the options do not include build 5000 homes atDunsfold, as this would have avoided the use of greenfield sites throughout theBorough. Clearly the best option for Farnham is option 3, and

Waverley BC has also proposed a . There is no Green Belt inFarnham but if this protection were removed from some of the nearby villages itcould benefit Farnham. On the downside the removal of Green Belt could open theway for ‘fracking’

We are also expecting the publication of thewhich deals specifically with Farnham. This is being prepared by

Councillors Carole Cockburn, Roger Steel and Patrick (Paddy) Blagden inconjunction with Farnham Town Council. It is of significant importance to publishthis document as soon as possible so that it can be a material consideration indetermining applications. It was a little surprising to see a banner across DowningStreet in August encouraging the public to respond to the Neighbourhood Planwhen the last we heard was that it will not be available until nearer the end of theyear!

The Planning Committee meets every two or three weeks to look at the currentbatch of planning applications. Of the fifty or so on the Parish register, ten to twelveare selected for more detailed examination by the study of plans and documentsat the Town Hall in South Street. Of these, the Society objects to perhaps two orthree and sometimes writes in support of an application or simply comments on theproposals. To ensure we are representing a broad view on what is right or wrong,we could do with some younger blood on the committee. So, if you are interestedin the future of our town and can attend the meetings on a Monday afternoon everytwo or three weeks, please contact me.

Filming has recommenced after a delay of nearly two years forplanning consent. We did not object to the application in principle but wanted to

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ensure strong conditions to safeguard local residents and the environment.

The application for fourteen houses at the Farnham College sitewas refused by members but as it was recommended for approval by the officers;there is bound to be an appeal

We are still awaiting an application for the Heron Court, Ford Lane sitebut we have been assured they will retain the locally-listed house.

Members of the Society met with representatives from theWoolmead who outlined alternative schemes for the redevelopment of thisimportant part of the town centre. We can expect more details soon and anapplication by 2015.

Full consent has been granted for retirement homes on the formerpolice station property and, as you will have noticed, the site has been boarded upand demolition could start soon (see photos on page 5).

In Badshot Lea the local landowners and their agents have used theopportunity to rush for planning permission whilst Waverley BC is without a LocalPlan. Current applications total 177 homes with plans for approximately 200 homesto be submitted in the next few weeks. There are also plans for a further 185 homesin Weybourne, just a few hundred metres from Badshot Lea. The Badshot LeaCommunity Association is currently in discussion with two of the developers in anattempt to mitigate some impact of this largescale development through improvedor additional amenities.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of propertiesbeing suggested for future applications on both brown-field (formerly built on) andparticularly on green-field sites. Some of these greenfield sites are quitesubstantial and worrying, eg. Frensham Vale (50+ homes), Gardeners Hill Road(50+ homes), Waverley Lane (190), Coxbridge Farm (350 homes), the Hopfieldssite (say100 homes) and Hale Road (250 homes). We are working with andsupporting local residents’ groups with their plans to oppose too manyapplications. If all of these, including Badshot Lea and Weybourne, result inplanning applications that are successful on application or appeal, we could see inthe order of 1500 new homes in Farnham in the very near future. However, pleaseremember it is not just Farnham facing these pressures. Other parts of the Boroughand most other towns will have to face the prospect of more building and there hasto be a strong case to control development. As I have already said, in Waverley,one of the most important options is to maximise the use of Dunsfold Park, thebiggest brownfield site in the Borough. So please take time to read and return theoptions questionnaire and again I recommend you to go for .

If you have strong views or queries on any of the points raised please contact us.

THE FARNHAM SOCIETY WEBSITE

Members have, no doubt, noticed that the Farnham Society’s website has been outof action in recent months, while undergoing redesign. The Society felt that thewebsite needed to move on in several ways.

There should be a Farnham Society brand. The website and other publicity material– such as newsletter and membership leaflet – should all use a common format soas to be identifiable readily as belonging to the Farnham Society. The brand hadsomehow to represent Farnham, the Society’s ‘lamp post’ logo had to be retained,and the overall effect had to be visually pleasing both on screen and on the printedpage. Readers will have noticed the new format of our front cover, which matchesthe new web pages.

The site should operate with the latest technology – which has changed since thetime of our first website. This includes the ability to connect with social media suchas Facebook. Modern mobile phones and tablets provide internet access, so thesite should operate in a way compatible with such devices.

Also, the site should be easy to run so that day to day operation could be handledby the Farnham Society, and that professional support would only be brought in formajor changes. This meant that creation and updating of any content should besimple. Additionally, a designated Webmaster should have editorial control, so asto vet the content of any new article before it was published on the site. It wasrecognised that the website would be something ‘living’, in that additional pagesmight be added over the course of time. Therefore it was important that the siteshould support ongoing development.

Two local website designers were approached and invited to tender for the task.After much deliberation, Lee Broughall was selected. Lee is resident in Farnham,having worked for the University of Creative Arts for a number of years, managingthe galleries and delivering exhibitions. He recently went into business as a websitedesigner, and has undertaken a number of commissions for local clients.

Lee has been working to roll out the new site progressively. In particular, there wasa requirement to support the forthcoming Heritage Open Day. Members may havenoticed that the old website, while displaying a reconstruction message, offered alink to the HODS brochure, as an interim measure. The first working version of thenew site should display information about the Society and about Farnham.Features such as a Members’ area, involving the additional complexity of controlledaccess, would be left until a later phase of the roll out. The home page has beenbased on a brick theme to echo that of this year’s HODs.

By the time you receive this newsletter, hopefully, you will be able to access ournew website at www.farnhamsociety.org.uk

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COFFEE MORNINGS 2014

The 2013 – 2014 season featured two coffee mornings. The first was at The OldFarmhouse at Elstead, which, for more than forty years has been home to Richardand Hilary Grey. And they’ve loved its special charm, the attractive grounds thathug the river, the wonderful and continuing memories of bringing up their fivechildren; and the parties and events, the precious personal milestones . . .

Hospitality they do well, as members of the Farnham Society found when acceptingan invitation to visit the Greys’ remarkable home for a coffee morning in Octoberlast year. Almost forty visitors enjoyed the opportunity to wander through house andgrounds but they couldn’t have guessed just how long and colourful a history wouldbe revealed to them.Richard announced that the centuries’ old barn in which everyone had gatheredactually dated to . . . 1446! (And in fact, the open-hall house has timbers datingfrom 1362). He revealed that a small cottage on the roadside (for a farm hand)dated to about 1300, and it was joined to the main part of the house in about the17th century.That cottage has served Mr Grey as part of a gallery for showing early watercolours– including annual exhibitions, since 1971, the year after the family moved in. Theseevents have continued, and Farnham Society members were delighted to have theopportunity to view the extensive collection – and in such an historic setting.They also inspected a number of publications with written and pictorial referencesto the house – whose barn, which could be as old as the house, originally housedwool and hay. “Today it has very different uses,” said Richard. “Anything fromfamily parties to charity events!”Among the books displayed was a copy of Gertrude Jekyll’s ‘Old West Surrey’which includes photographs of the property. Literary figures had lived in the house,one being A.G. Macdonell, whose ‘England their England’ was written here, and hehad included the classic story of The Village Cricket Match – based on matchesplayed on the Tilford cricket green.Michael Blower, who had introduced Richard and Hilary Grey, concluded the visitwith warm thanks to them, and the great appreciation of the Society.Our second coffee morning was at Priorsfield School, near Compton. We had, asour guides, not only current students and members of staff but also our own JennyThorpe, an ‘old girl’ of the school.

The building started life as a house named Prior’s Garth, designed by CharlesVoysey and built at the start of the twentieth century. The original parts of thebuilding are still full of Voysey features, including fireplaces, door and windowfurniture, and details such as ventilation grilles. The house was acquired after onlyone year by Leonard Huxley, who was a master at the nearby Charterhouse School.

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He and his wife Julia started an all-girl school at the premises, which they namedPrior’s Field. The only boy pupil at the school was their son Aldous Huxley.The building was extended on various occasions, firstly by Thomas Muntzer withinfive years of the school being established. The most recent work was the additionof a new sports facility in the current century. All alterations are in keeping withVoysey’s original style and character. Outside is a garden inspired by GertrudeJekyll.

Today the school supports several hundred students between the ages of 11 and18, some as day students and some as boarders. A number of the students arefrom overseas. The school is strong in creative arts, as shown by the extensive artfacilities.

Finally, a note of thanks to the school catering team who treated us all to coffee andhome made cakes – school dinners have certainly improved since my time!

BUILDINGS OF MERIT By Michael Blower

In the Society’sefforts to preservesignificant parts ofour heritage, wehave looked at howbuildings which donot have statutorylisted status mightnevertheless begiven some formalrecognition. To thisend, it has been The Crafts Study Centre, Falkner Road, Farnham 2004suggested that allworthy local buildings should be identified as Buildings of Merit.

As part of Farnham’s Heritage Open Days, 11 – 14 September, the FarnhamSociety is supporting Michael Blower’s exhibition “Farnham’s Buildings of Merit”, torun from 12 – 24 September in the Kiln Gallery at Farnham Maltings.

The exhibition will show examples of buildings, other than existing statutory listedbuildings, which are considered to assist in defining criteria for gauging what is aBuilding of Merit.

craftscentre@ucreative.ac.uk

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Our 67th AGM was attended by approximately 50 of our members. Reports on ouractivities during the year were presented, and new officers and committeemembers elected. These issues have already been featured in the current orprevious newsletter and so are not repeated here.

Following the Chairman’s report, questions raised from the floor prompted a livelydiscussion.

The Society has proposed a public meeting for later in the year, possibly October,to explore what options are available to develop Farnham, reflecting its ambienceas a market town, while taking account of the requirements of a 21st centurypopulation and the need for affordable housing and sustainable infrastructure. Itwas hoped that by providing a public arena for discussion with professionalarchitects and others, a plan for Farnham would emerge. Jeremy Hunt’s supporthad been sought. Mike Bryan asked whether the committee had considered thepossibility of attracting major developers’ interest and finance potential with theidea of giving impetus to any plans put forward. The Chairman replied that wewould attempt to attract the interest of potential developers.

Celia Sandars pointed out that the South East Area is water-vulnerable and thethreat of lack of water should be researched. The Chairman replied thatconsideration was being given to setting up a database dealing with allinfrastructure problems. We wish to be in a position where we can identify existingproblems supported by the necessary evidence and to be able to project futuretrends.

Mike Bryan asked if, given the massive difficulty in convincing the Local Authorityof the impact of future housing growth in the area, there was any prospect ofencouraging MPs with adjoining constituencies to agree that there should beco-ordination over planning matters. The Chairman said that this was part of thereason for the meeting with Jeremy Hunt in June last year. If a regional planningcommittee could be formed, it would have to involve neighbouring MPs.

Jerry Hyman suggested the proposed October meeting may be too late to talkabout East Street. He referred to the illegality of works at the Riverside site due tothe lack of proper planning consent. The Secretary of State’s Screening Ordermade it clear that an Environmental Impact Assessment had to take into account,the total impact of the East Street development. He wondered how members feltabout supporting a judicial review. The Chairman thanked Mr Hyman for adding tothe information about East Street and said the Society was in touch with MatthewEvans, Head of Planning Services at Waverley, about the programme forundertaking a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

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LECTURES 2014

During the year we have enjoyed a full programme of evening lectures.

In January, Paul Vickers presented a tour of Aldershot military camp duringEdwardian times. This was a time when Aldershot military town had reached a peakin development, following rapid growth during Victorian times. The nation hadrecently come through the Boer War, fighting a guerrilla army, and was questioningthe effectiveness of our forces in such a conflict. Now, one hundred years later, weare still faced with the problem of ‘asymmetric warfare’.(Wars between unequalpowers)

Zofia Lovell, Chairman of South Farnham Residents’ Association and a member ofthe Society’s Planning Committee expressed concern about the future of morepeople coming to Farnham. Referring to the de-selection of Councillors Roger Steeland John Ward by the Conservative Association, she asked if members shouldtake action by writing to their own Councillor, to the Farnham Herald or to JeremyHunt to protest at the de-selections and ask the reasons why such action had beentaken. Celia Sandars suggested re-electing the Councillors involved asIndependents if that was their wish, and Anne Thurston asked if the Society wouldbe prepared to support a non-political candidate.The Chairman said he would liketo think the Society would give support to an Independent candidate who upheldthe aspirations of Farnham. The Society had tried to keep out of the political arenabut had been dragged into it by events, and if the only way to protect Farnham wasby political action, so be it. Zofia Lovell, referring again to Roger Steel and JohnWard, emphasised their concern to do the right thing for their constituents, incontrast to those who sat on influential committees and did nothing for Farnham.

The Chairman pointed out that there are other Councillors, not present, who dosupport Farnham and have its best interests at heart. David Wylde said that, assomeone at the heart of the Farnham Petition, he was sure that appropriateindependent candidates could rely on enthusiastic support.

There was discussion on how to motivate people to join the Society. The Chairmansaid a scheme had been put in place to distribute publicity to newcomers toFarnham via the town’s estate agents, but it was difficult to maintain the necessarypressure. Zofia Lovell expressed the need to reach out to young families who wouldbe concerned about school places and other infrastructure issues. The Chairmanagreed there was a need to continue trying to attract younger members, despitetheir busy lives. Celia Sandars suggested a wider audience must be reached forthe proposed public meeting in October.(Meeting subsequently cancelled)Rosemary Mansfield suggested a leaflet hand-out in the Lion & Lamb Yard.

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In March, Neville Lyons, a relative of Joe, talked about the Joe Lyons Coffee shops,The company originated in the 19th century, when an established tobacconistsought to set up a business to provide catering at exhibitions. It grew from there,using innovative management techniques, which led to the firms involvement in themanagement of munitions factories during World War Two. In the post-war period,the firm was instrumental in the introduction of Information Technology into thebusiness world.

June’s lecture, on the English Heritage project ‘Britain From Above’ which aims tocollect early aerial photographs, was presented by Phil Jacob. Aerial photographywas pioneered during WW1 as a means of reconnaissance. The activity began afterthe war, and English Heritage now have access to several hundred thousandimages. These need to be identified and preserved. In some cases, thephotographs carry minimal information regarding when and where they weretaking, so much detective work has been required. Nearly one hundred thousandof the photographs have been scanned, to be made available on the website,where they can be viewed at no charge. See www.britainfromabove.org.uk

Our last lecture of the season, in July, about the Mary Rose, was presented by AlanTutton on behalf of the Mary Rose Trust. It is now more than thirty years since thewreck was raised. A new museum has recently been opened to display the shipand the artifacts recovered from the sea bed. The work of preservation continues,with the ship in a controlled environment enclosed by glass screens. These will beremoved in a few years time. Meanwhile, there is concern that dredging of thechannel outside Portsmouth Harbour, for the latest generation of warships, willaffect the wreck site. Work will continue for many more years on this remarkableproject.

We have more lectures arranged for the 2014 - 2015 season..

On October 15th, Alan Windsor will be speaking about the Sir John Soane’sSimeon Monument in Reading, Berkshire. Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was bornnear Reading. He became the architect of the Bank of England, and manyremarkable country houses. He left his former houses in Lincoln's Inn Fields to thenation as The Sir John Soane's Museum. The monument was commissioned byEdward Simeon, a director of the Bank of England, in 1804. and it still stands in theMarket Place.In a change to our advertised programme, on Wednesday 19th November, thescheduled talk by Dr Tony Rice, on the subject of "Oceans and Climate" has beencancelled. There will instead be a talk by two of our members, Hans DuMoulin andSam Osmond, titled "Sir William and Dorothy Temple of Moor Park".

This is a double bill about Farnham's most famous couple, who retired to MoorPark. Hans DuMoulin will be talking about the career of Sir William Temple who laidthe foundations of the Anglo-Dutch alliance which was sealed by the marriage of

A THANK-YOU AND A WELCOME by Janet Radley

On 17 July, the hottest day of the year so far, a full coach of 53 members arrived atPortsmouth Historic Dockyard for a day with a maritime theme. To see the hull ofthe Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, more than 30 years after she was raised fromthe Solent, is a stunning experience, currently viewed through the windows of a‘hotbox’ as 100 tonnes of water are removed from the timbers after years ofspraying with preservative. Once dry, the hull will be displayed in an open museumenvironment (scheduled for 2017) and that will be an even more impressive sight.

The unique collection of artefacts, retrieved from the ship and the silt of the seabed, are displayed in this new museum in beautifully designed mirror-imagecontext galleries running the length of the ship, and other themed galleries illustratethe working lives of the crew. The condition of these objects is quite remarkable,like the leather shoes, chests full of yew longbows, a vast array of tools from thecarpenter’s cabin and instruments used by the Ship’s Surgeon.19,000 objects werefound. Many are kept within environmentally controlled conditions to preventdisintegration, but others are on display The bronze cannons bear Henry’s crestand the initials H I (Henricus Invictissimus)

HMS Victory currently had her topmasts struck for restoration, but below decks waswhere the real interest lay, giving a very real impression of life on board Nelson’sflagship. Other options were HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warshippowered by sail and steam, Action Stations – a series of interactive displaysbringing the modern Royal Navy to life, and the Royal Naval Museum with itsfamous William Wyllie Panorama of Trafalgar. Finally, a boat tour of PortsmouthHarbour was particularly welcome, bringing the relief of a sea breeze on thisswelteringly hot day.

Although our Cotswolds tour is yet to come in mid-September, this will be the lastof my one-day outings as I step down as Visits Organiser. I have enjoyed the roleimmensely during the last three and a half years and that is largely due to themembers who come on visits, some for the first time, many as regulars. All of them

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Princess Mary to William of Orange in 1677. Sam Osmond will follow by describingthe romantic love affair which Sir William conducted with Dorothy Osborne whobecame his wife. We hope that Tony will be able to speak at some later date.

On Monday 19th January 2015, Martin Angel of the Bourne Conservation Group willspeak on Farnham's Natural History - its fauna and wildlife and their conservation.Martin spoke to us a few years ago about wildlife in The Bourne. The venue for bothtalks will be St Joan’s Church on the Tilford Road, time 7:30 for 8:00.

are great company, always so appreciative of the effort made on their behalf and ithas been an absolute pleasure to share the various experiences with them.

We’ve had our moments – like the time Sam Osmond led our tour of EnglishHeritage sites and, despite my negotiations in advance to have the gates at NetleyAbbey unlocked for us, with an email reminder the week before, and a phone callthe day before, when we arrived they were firmly closed It’s an uncomfortablefeeling to have 45 people standing in the road behind you and a heavy chain andshut padlock in front. But a phone call to EH and I was given the number for thecombination lock. A cheer all round and in we went!

I must say a special thank-you to Jenny Thorpe, a member of our Social Sub-Committee, who enthralled us with her carefully researched history on ourNorthumbrian tour last year, and who has been my companion and navigator onso many of the recce visits we always do for each venue. We’ve had great fun, andher directions have always got us there, apart from our efforts to find an alternativeroute to Lord Malmesbury’s home, Greywell Hill House, in 2013 when a road wasblocked, and we wound up on a housing estate ...!

I am delighted to say that Diane Bradbury will be taking over from me, and all thosefaithful followers will be in very good hands. So a warm welcome to her, and I hopeshe enjoys the job as much as I have done. Diane is in the process of planning theprogramme for next year and I’m sure it will be an appealing one. I know you willall give her the same support as you have so kindly given me, and I shall lookforward to seeing many old friends on next year’s visits, this time as one of thepassengers.

I would just like to introduce myself to everyone, and to saythat I am already working on a programme of visits for 2015.I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and I amhoping very much for your support in my new role.

Diane Bradbury

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POTHOLES

Have you seen a bad pothole? Report it and Surrey County Council will be liable forsubsequent damage claims. They are therefore more likely to repair it.Emergencies should be reported by telephone to the Contact Centre on:0300 200 1003. Non emergencies can be reported online athttps://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/road-maintenance-and-cleaning

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MEMBERSHIP OF THE FARNHAM SOCIETY

Being a member of The Farnham Society enables you to have your say in the futureof Farnham and helps us to protect your town. It also entitles you to enjoy theopportunity to attend evening lectures at reduced cost and join other members oninteresting visits throughout the year.

Please help us by paying by standing order, and completing a gift aid form, if notalready doing so.

Donations and legacies are welcomed to support the on-going work ofThe Farnham Society.

Forms can be obtained from the website: www.farnhamsociety.org.uk or pleasecontact our Membership Secretary: David Berry, 16 Monks Well, FarnhamGU10 1RH Tel. 01252 781801 dc.berry@tiscali.co.uk

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATESIndividual member: Couple members:Senior member: (over 65 yrs): Senior couple: (one over 65 yrs):

Life member: Couple - life members:

The next Farnham Society Newsletter will be published in February 2015

Mr & Mrs N BicknellMrs R BrockmanMr M ConoleyMr R GreyMrs P Hall

Mrs B HansonMrs C MallyMr G MollartMiss J NorrisMrs A Price

Mrs J StintonMrs M StubbingtonMr & Mrs J Ward

The Society welcomes the following new members

Select ‘Problems on roads and highways’ Then click on ‘You can report a non-emergency problem online’. Select ‘Pothole’ (it is under ‘Popular) and you will betaken to a page where you can identify the pothole location. SCC will inspect thepothole within five days, and if it is identified as a safety risk it will be repaired within28 days. SCC are responsible for most roads in Surrey, including pavements, butare not responsible for motorways and trunk roads (the A3) which come under theHighways Agency, nor are they responsible for private roads.

24Editor: Simon Bradbury, graphics: Mike Clements 19.08.14 Printed by Riverprint Ltd, 9 Riverside Park, Farnham, Surrey

2014 - 2015 PROGRAMMEEVENING TALKS8:00 pm at St. Joan's Centre(next to St.Joan's R.C. Church)Tilford Road, Farnham GU9 8DJAmple car parking availableMembers £2, Non-members £5,Students £1.50.Light refreshments from 7.30 pm.

Wednesday 15 October 2014Sir John Soane's Simeon Monumentby Alan Windsor

Wednesday 19 November 2014Sir William and Dorothy Temple ofMoor Parkby Hans DuMoulin and Sam OsmondNOTE: this is a change to ourprogramme

Monday 19 January 2015Farnham's Natural History- its faunaand Wildlife and their conservationby Martin Angel

Monday 16 March 2015Literary Farnhamby Rosemary Wisbey, accompaniedby Jenny Thorpe and David Wylde

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS Thursday to Sunday, 11 - 14 September 2014

ALL VENUES AND EVENTS FREE

Volunteer helpers at the venues would be greatly appreciated.Please contact Gloria Dyche onor Georgina Bridges

The public meeting proposed forOctober 2014 will not now be goingahead

TOUR OF THE COTSWOLDS18 – 20 September 2014

to includeRodmarton Manor,Stanway House,Upton House and Gardens,and a half day tour of Cotswoldshistoric townsStaying at the Thistle Hotel,Cheltenham – half board

FULLY BOOKED

Day visits for 2015 will beannounced in the next issue of thenewsletter

RESIDENTS ASSOCIATIONSMEETING26 November 20148 pm at St Joan’s Centre,