Farnham Royal
Encyclopedia
Farnham Royal is a village
and civil parish within the South Bucks
district of Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is located in the south of the county, around 22 miles west of Charing Cross
, Central London
.
The village name 'Farnham' is Anglo Saxon
in origin, and means 'homestead where ferns grow'. In the Domesday Book
of 1086 the village was recorded as Ferneham. The affix 'Royal' was given to the village in the late 11th century by the king
, who gave the lord of the manor
of Farnham Bertram de Verdun
the Grand Serjeanty
, on the condition of providing a glove
and putting it on the king's right hand at the coronation
, and supporting his right arm, while the Royal sceptre
was in his hand (see also Manor of Worksop
).
At the centre of the village, where there are now two mini-roundabouts, stood the old water pump. This was removed when the mini-roundabouts were created sometime in the 1970s, but recently came back to Farnham Royal and has been placed on the green nearby, next to the Duke's Head pub.
Within the parish
boundary is the village of Farnham Common
and the hamlet
of Farnham Park. In 1832, Francis Osborne
was created Baron Godolphin
, of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham
.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39% in full-time employment, 11% in part-time employment, 14.4% self-employed, 1.7% unemployed, 2.2% students with jobs, 2.7% students without jobs, 16.9% retired, 8.2% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 15.4% retail, 13% manufacturing, 4.5% construction, 24.8% real estate, 8.4% health and social work, 7.6% education, 8% transport and communications, 2.9% public administration, 3.7% hotels and restaurants, 3.9% finance, 0.7% agriculture and 7.1% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in real estate, transport and communications. According to Office for National Statistics
estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households was £1,070, compared with an average of £660 in South East England
. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 34% had a higher education
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
has many famous alumni including deputy priminister Nick Clegg
and England cricket captain Andrew Strauss
.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish within the South Bucks
South Bucks
South Bucks is one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Beaconsfield Urban District with part of Eton Rural District...
district of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located in the south of the county, around 22 miles west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
, Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
.
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
in origin, and means 'homestead where ferns grow'. In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 the village was recorded as Ferneham. The affix 'Royal' was given to the village in the late 11th century by the king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
, who gave the lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Farnham Bertram de Verdun
Bertram de Verdun
Bertram de Verdun was the name of several members of the Norman family of Verdun, native of Avranchin.For the historian Mark Hagger, the Verdun family lived lavishly in Normandy where they were minor land holders, and after the Norman conquest of England they were granted land in England...
the Grand Serjeanty
Serjeanty
Under the feudal system in late and high medieval England, tenure by serjeanty was a form of land-holding in return for some specified service, ranking between tenure by knight-service and tenure in socage...
, on the condition of providing a glove
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
and putting it on the king's right hand at the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
, and supporting his right arm, while the Royal sceptre
Sceptre
A sceptre is a symbolic ornamental rod or wand borne in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia.-Antiquity:...
was in his hand (see also Manor of Worksop
Manor of Worksop
The Manor of Worksop is a feudal entity in the Dukeries area of Nottinghamshire, England. Held in Grand Serjeanty by a lord of the manor, it was originally connected with nearby Worksop Manor, a stately home.-History:...
).
At the centre of the village, where there are now two mini-roundabouts, stood the old water pump. This was removed when the mini-roundabouts were created sometime in the 1970s, but recently came back to Farnham Royal and has been placed on the green nearby, next to the Duke's Head pub.
Within the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
boundary is the village of Farnham Common
Farnham Common
Farnham Common is a village in the parish of Farnham Royal, in Buckinghamshire, England, about 3 miles north of the town of Slough, on the A355 road between Slough and Beaconsfield. It is to the north of the village of Farnham Royal, and adjoins the woodland of Burnham Beeches.Lois Allan invented...
and the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Farnham Park. In 1832, Francis Osborne
Francis Osborne, 1st Baron Godolphin
Francis Godolphin Osborne, 1st Baron Godolphin , styled Lord Francis Osborne from 1789 to 1832, was a British politician.-Background:...
was created Baron Godolphin
Baron Godolphin
Baron Godolphin is a title that was created three times: first in the Peerage of England, then in the Peerage of Great Britain, and lastly in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
, of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
Demography
As of the 2001 UK census, the Farnham Royal electoral ward, which includes the village of Farnham Common, had a population of 5,002. The ethnicity was 92.9% white, 1.3% mixed race, 5% Asian, 0.4% black and 0.4% other. The place of birth of residents was 87.7% United Kingdom, 1.2% Republic of Ireland, 2.6% other Western European countries, and 8.5% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 75.7% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist, 1.3% Hindu, 1.4% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, and 1.1% Muslim. 12.7% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 6.8% did not state their religion.The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39% in full-time employment, 11% in part-time employment, 14.4% self-employed, 1.7% unemployed, 2.2% students with jobs, 2.7% students without jobs, 16.9% retired, 8.2% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 15.4% retail, 13% manufacturing, 4.5% construction, 24.8% real estate, 8.4% health and social work, 7.6% education, 8% transport and communications, 2.9% public administration, 3.7% hotels and restaurants, 3.9% finance, 0.7% agriculture and 7.1% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in real estate, transport and communications. According to Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households was £1,070, compared with an average of £660 in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 34% had a higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
Education
The private boys preparatory school Caldicott SchoolCaldicott School
Caldicott, formally known as Caldicott Preparatory School, is a Prep School for boys aged 7–13, close to London.- About Caldicott :Caldicott Preparatory School was founded in Hitchin, Hertfordshire in 1904 by James Heald Jenkins who named his school after his new bride, a Miss Theodora Caldicott...
has many famous alumni including deputy priminister Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
and England cricket captain Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
.