Coordinates: 51°39′25″N 1°35′10″W / 51.657°N 1.586°W
| Faringdon | |
 Faringdon market place |
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  Faringdon
Faringdon shown within Oxfordshire |
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| Population | c. 5,600 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| - London | 77.7mi |
| District | Vale of White Horse |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FARINGDON |
| Postcode district | SN7 |
| Dialling code | 01367 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Wantage |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Faringdon is a market town in the Vale of White Horse, in Oxfordshire. It is located on the edge of the Thames Valley, between the River Thames and the Ridgeway. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire.
The civil parish is formally known as Great Faringdon, to distinguish it from Little Faringdon in West Oxfordshire.
On 1 February 2004, Faringdon was granted Fairtrade Town status, becoming the first Fairtrade Town in the South East of England. In 1990, the town was twinned with Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe in France. Faringdon is the base for the Faringdon Enterprise Gateway, which is run by the South East England Development Agency to help and advise businesses in rural west Oxfordshire.
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History
The name Faringdon means fern covered hill. The Anglo-Saxon kings of Wessex and later England had a palace located in Faringdon[citation needed] However, claims that King Edward the Elder died there are misguided.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Faringdon is recorded as a manor and a mill. The town was granted a weekly market in 1218[1]. The weekly market is still held today. King John also established an abbey in Faringdon in 1202, but it quickly moved to Beaulieu in Hampshire[1].
During the English Civil War, Faringdon was the scene of some fighting, due to its position overlooking the road to the Radcot Bridge over the river Thames. The spire of All Saints' church was partly destroyed by a cannon-ball that went astray[1].
The Old Town Hall (formerly the Market Hall) dates from the late 17th century or early 18th century[1][2]. It remains the centre of the town and its focal point.
There is a manor house and estate, close to the edge of Faringdon, called Faringdon House. The original house was damaged during the English Civil War. Its owner at the time, Sir Robert Pye, was kept prisoner in it at one point during the conflict. The current, smaller, house was built in around 1780[3][4] and was the home of Lord Berners in the middle part of the twentieth century. It currently belongs to the writer Sofka Zinovieff, though she does not live there.
The £1.6m three-mile A420 bypass opened in July 1979.
Geology
Faringdon is home to the famous Faringdon Sponge Gravel, a Cretaceous unit filled with spectacular fossil sponges, other invertebrates, a few vertebrate bones and teeth, and wonderful examples of bioerosion.
Faringdon Folly
Close to the East side of town is Faringdon Folly, situated atop Folly Hill (also known as Faringdon Hill), a Greensand outcrop (at grid reference SU 298957). In common with Badbury Hill to the west of the town, it has an ancient ditched defensive ring (hill fort). This was fortified by supporters of Matilda sometime during the Anarchy (1135-1141) - her campaign to claim the throne from King Stephen - but was soon razed to the ground by Stephen. Oliver Cromwell fortified it in his unsuccessful campaign to deal with the Royalist garrison that was based on Faringdon House. The Pye family had Scots Pines planted around the summit, around the time that Faringdon House was rebuilt in the late 18th century. This is a conspicuous and recognisable landmark that can be seen from afar, including from the Vale of White Horse, White Horse Hill, the Berkshire Downs near Lockinge and the Cotswold Hills to the north.
The folly itself was built by Lord Berners in 1935. It is 100 feet high and affords panoramic views of the Vale of White Horse. During the Second World War, it was used by the Home Guard as an observation post. In 1982, it was restored by Robert Heber-Percy and handed over to the town, in trust.
Near the top of London Street situated close to the actual Faringdon Folly is the pub bearing the same name. Resembling a small living room with a bar placed in the middle, it is a popular haunt for many of the town's young citizens.
Transport
Buses
Faringdon is connected to Swindon and Oxford by the hourly 66 bus service run by Stagecoach in Swindon.
Faringdon is connected to Wantage by a regular bus service operated by RH Transport. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes and connects intervening villages to the two towns. A service to Wantage is also provided by the Stanford in the Vale Community Bus[5].
Railway
A 3.5 mile branch line was opened in 1864, between Faringdon and the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Uffington, with construction funded by the Faringdon Railway Company (purchased outright by the GWR in 1886). Passenger traffic peaked in 1913, but later declined to such extent that the passenger service was withdrawn in 1951. Freight traffic continued to use the line until the Beeching cuts of 1964. The station building is still extant, having been used for various commercial purposes (currently a nursery school).
Culture
Faringdon is notable for the dyed pigeons at Faringdon House. The custom of dyeing pigeons was originally started by the eccentric Lord Berners.[6]
Since 2004, Faringdon has held an annual arts festival over one weekend in early July.
References
- ^ a b c d Victoria County History of Berkshire
- ^ Images of England website
- ^ Faringdon On Line: Faringdon House
- ^ Pevsner, N (1966) The Buildings of England: Berkshire
- ^ Stanford in the Vale Community Bus
- ^ Lord Berners, Faringdon.org
External links
- Faringdon.org Community Site
- Faringdon.co.uk Business & Community Site
- Faringdon Town Council Site
- Faringdon Chamber of Commerce Site
- Focus On Faringdon Site
- Faringdon Advertiser Site
- Faringdon Folly website
- Picture of the Folly
- BBC website ref. Faringdon Folly with panoramic view of Faringdon
- Faringdon Workhouse
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