Wikipedia

Fareham

This article is about the town. For the local government district, seeBorough of Fareham.For other uses, seeFareham (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withFarnhamorFaversham.

Fareham(/ˈfɛərəm/FAIR-əm) is amarket townat the north-west tip ofPortsmouth Harbour,between the cities ofPortsmouthandSouthamptonin south eastHampshire,England.It gives its name to theBorough of Fareham.It was historically an important manufacturer of bricks, used to build theRoyal Albert Hall,and grower of strawberries and other seasonal fruits. In 2011 it had a population of 42,210.

Fareham
Fareham
Fareham Creek
Fareham is located in Hampshire
Fareham
Fareham
Location withinHampshire
Population42,210 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSU578048
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townFAREHAM
Postcode districtPO14 – PO17
Dialling code01329, 01489, 023
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight
FireHampshire and Isle of Wight
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°51′N1°11′W/ 50.85°N 1.18°W/50.85; -1.18

History

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Cams Hall North Front
Manor Cottage, Manor House, Manor Lodge and Manor Croft, Church Path, Fareham (2019)

The town has a documented history dating back to theNormanera, when a part of William's army marched up from Fareham Creek before continuing to the Saxon capital of England, Winchester.[1]Originally known asFerneham(hence the name of the former entertainment venue Ferneham Hall, now Fareham Live[2]), it was listed in theDomesday Bookas having 90 households.[3]The ford of Fareham Creek (at the top ofPortsmouth Harbour) was the location of theBishop of Winchester'smills;the foundations were subsumed in the A27 near the railway viaduct. Commercial activity continued at the port until the 1970s and continues on a smaller scale.

In the 1960s Fareham experienced major residential development. By the 1970s the town had expanded to almost encompass the surrounding villages ofFuntley,Titchfield,CatisfieldandPortchester.In the late 1990s a settlement calledWhiteley,straddling the boundaries of Fareham Borough and theCity of Winchester,was developed to the north of Junction 9 of theM27 motorway.It is predominantly residential but includes the extensiveSolent Business Park.

In 1995Cams Hall,a derelictPalladianmansion, was restored for office use, and the surroundingCams Estatewas developed as a golf course and modern technology park.

Anvil Man at the Henry Cort Sculpture Park

Since 1997 Fareham has been the home of the United Kingdom'sAeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre(ARCC), at the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC), and responsible for coordinating allMaritime & Coastguard AgencySearch and Rescue(SAR) helicopters.

An urban renewal initiative began in 1999, renovating the town centre and historic buildings to include a new entertainment and shopping complex. It featured a major iron sculpture park[4]installed in 2001 to celebrate the work of influential Lancastrian iron pioneer,Henry Cort,who lived in neighbouringGosportbut who had an iron rolling mill in Funtley (or Fontley), on the outskirts of Fareham.

Arts and culture

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Fareham was home to Ferneham Hall, a multi purpose venue with a capacity of over 700. The hall opened in 1982 and closed in 2020 to allow for renovation.[5]Work on the remodel began in 2022, including rebranding the centre toFareham Live.[6]

TheAshcroft Arts Centre,on Osborn Road, has a 150-seat theatre, a gallery, a dance/music studio and a fully licensed bar. It offers a varied programme of events including films, theatre, comedy and workshops.[7]

The pedestrianised area of West Street, in the town centre, is home to a permanent exhibition of the work of 12blacksmithartists celebrating the achievements ofHenry Cort,the 18th century 'man of iron' who pioneered the iron refining process atFuntleynear Fareham. The puddled wrought iron sculptures are themed on Fareham's market town history and the exhibition is the largest of its type in Britain.[8]

Education

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In 2017Fareham Collegewas rated by OFSTED as "Outstanding".[9]

Sport and Leisure

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Fareham has aNon-League footballclub,Fareham Town F.C.

Transport

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Main article:Transport in South Hampshire

Road

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TheM27 motorwaypasses around the northern edge of the town, and is the main trafficarteryinto and out of the area. It provides rapid access toPortsmouthandSouthampton,and from there toLondonvia theM3andA3(M).

TheA27was the original route along the south coast before the building of the M27, and runs fromBrightontoSouthampton,passing through the centre of Fareham. TheA32passes through Fareham at the Quay Street roundabout, a notorious bottleneck, on its way fromGosporttoWickhamand through theMeon ValleytoAlton.

Fareham was named the most car-dependent town in the UK by the Office for National Statistics in July 2014 with 538.7 cars registered to addresses in the town for every 1,000 residents.[10]

Rail

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Fareham Railway Station

Fareham railway stationis on theWest Coastway Line,with regular services toPortsmouth,Southampton,Brighton,CardiffandLondon.Passenger services also ran south toGosportuntil 1953, and north along the Meon Valley to Alton until 1955.[11]

Bus

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Bus transport in the town is provided byFirst Hampshire & Dorset,which runs nearly all bus routes.Stagecoach Southservice 69 does run as far north asWinchester.Thebus stationis adjacent to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and replaced an older station that was demolished in the late 1980s.[citation needed]

Places of interest

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Local media

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Fareham is home to the local ITV franchise, covering the South and South-East of England, calledITV Meridian,based atWhiteley,with the BBC region beingBBC South,based inSouthampton.All BBC and ITV Services are available in Fareham, with transmissions from theRowridge Transmitteron theIsle of Wight,although signals from theHanningtonandMidhursttransmitting stations can be picked up from certain areas of the town. Also, the town is served by a local television station, namedThat's Solent,it was launched as part of a UK wide roll out of local Freeview channels, being broadcast from the Rowridge Transmitter.

The local commercial radio station isGreatest Hits Radio Southon 105.2FM, alsoHeart Southis based in the town, on 97.5FM, plusCapital Southon 103.2FM, other radio stations based elsewhere serve Fareham, withEasy Radio South Coaston 107.4FM,BBC Radio Solenton 96.1FM andNation Radio South Coast(formerly SAM FM) on 106.0FM, and Portsmouth based non-profit community radio station Express FM on 93.7FM.

The town has two daily local newspapers, theSouthern Daily EchoandPortsmouth News,together with a free weekly newspaper, from the same publisher,Johnston Press,calledFareham View.

Politics

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Parliament

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The currentMember of Parliamentfor theFareham and Waterlooville constituencyisSuella Braverman,first elected as MP for Fareham in the2015 UK General Election.Braverman is notable for being the shortest servingHome Secretaryin British history during theTruss ministry,but was again reappointed as Home Secretary byRishi Sunakon 25 October 2022.[12][13]

Local government

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Fareham is a part of the slightly largerBorough of Farehamlocal government district, with some local services provided by anon-metropolitan district councilcalledFareham Borough Council.Following the most recent elections to the council, the council'sadministrationis currently made up ofcouncillorsfrom theConservative Partywhich as of 2022 have a total of 12 councillors. The second largest party and therefore opposition on the council is theLiberal Democratswith 3 councillors.

Some local services are provided by the largerHampshire County Council,with Fareham residents also able to participate in this Hampshire-wide (exceptPortsmouthandSouthampton) election.

Welborne

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Main article:Welborne, Hampshire

Welborne is a proposed new town to the north of the M27 at Fareham,[14]intended to include 6,000 houses with businesses and community facilities.

The Planning Inspectorate Hearings into Welborne took place in 2014.[15]Building is yet to start, with the completion date for the first houses now scheduled for 2023/24. On 6 June 2022 thePlanning Inspectoratereported back on its examination of the 2037 Fareham Local Plan, and in the post-hearing letter noted that they considered completion of the first Welborne houses by 2023/24 to be "overly ambitious" and that "the site should be pushed back a year in the trajectory".[16]

Twin towns

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Fareham istwinnedwith:

Notable residents

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"Rotary Club of Fareham Meon The News, Portsmouth, 20/09/01".Archived fromthe originalon 27 July 2011.Retrieved1 September2010.Sept 2001 Portsmouth News article concerning the Norman Invasion, as reported by the Fareham Meon Rotary Club – "....and Fareham Creek was the landing site for 1,000 men whose mission it was to capture the ancient Saxon capital of Winchester."
  2. ^http://www.fareham.gov.uk/town/activities/fernehamhall/Archived18 July 2006 at theWayback Machinefareham.gov.uk
  3. ^Anna Powell-Smith."Fareham – Domesday Book".
  4. ^"Visit South East England: The Sculpture Park".Retrieved21 August2021.
  5. ^Unnamed, N/A (1 October 2021)."FBC Press Release, Ferneham Hall".FBC website.Retrieved27 March2022.
  6. ^Council, Fareham Borough (2 January 2019)."Press Release".www.fareham.gov.uk.Retrieved8 January2024.
  7. ^Fareham Borough Council (21 January 2013)."Ashcroft Arts Centre".
  8. ^"Henry Cort Sculpture Park".Fareham Town Centre.Archived fromthe originalon 24 April 2016.
  9. ^"Inspection report: Fareham College, 3–6 October 2017"(PDF).Ofsted.Retrieved13 November2017.
  10. ^[1]telegraph.co.uk
  11. ^Davies, Hugh. (2011).Variety on the Southern, 1948 to 1968.Noodle Books, Corhampton, Southampton.ISBN978-1-906419-58-5.
  12. ^"Fareham MP Suella Braverman is eliminated from the race to be the next PM".www.portsmouth.co.uk.14 July 2022.Retrieved15 July2022.
  13. ^"UK's Sunak reinstates Braverman as interior minister".Reuters.25 October 2022.Retrieved26 October2022.
  14. ^"Welborne Garden Village – Live, Work, Visit".Welborne – Garden Village.
  15. ^"Welborne Plan: Examination Library".
  16. ^"Examination Library".24 February 2022.
  17. ^"British towns twinned with French towns[via WaybackMachine.com]".Archant Community Media Ltd.Archived fromthe originalon 5 July 2013.Retrieved12 July2013.
  18. ^"The Nobel Peace Prize 1903 Randal Cremer".nobelprize.org.
  19. ^Lamb, Rachel (1 February 2001)."From Fareham to Ramsay Street".Hampshire, United Kingdom: thisishampshire.net. Archived fromthe originalon 11 October 2007.Retrieved19 July2010.Actor Tom Oliver is known to millions of viewers as wheeler-dealer Lou Carpenter in Aussie soap, Neighbours. Although the 62-year-old actor has made his name in a show produced in the Antipodes, he was born in London and grew up in Fareham, Hampshire.
  20. ^"Vernon claims victory in battle of the Brits".
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide forFareham.
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