No. MC14In this issue:

Sir John Verney 5

The WellesleyDevelopment 8

William Cobbett 9

Coffee morning atFrensham Mill 11

Marshall Barnes -artist 13

Frensham Common14

Self-government forFarnham 15

Planning matters 16

Greywell Hill Housevisit 19

Parham House 20

Readers letters 21

Moor Park House 22

Members notices 23

Autumn 2013 Newsletter

THE FARNHAM SOCIETY

From the Chairman, Alan Gavaghan.I have taken extracts from my address to the AnnualGeneral Meeting as it does capture most of therelevant events which have taken place since the lastNewsletter. The Society remains vibrant in all areas ofits activities and this is reflected in the individualReports submitted by each Committee. In addition tothe main areas of activity, it is often overlooked that amultitude of other activities are taking place in a lessobvious manner, including website management,acting as judges for many competitions, site visits,catering, newsletter, innumerable meetings, liaisonwith Resident Associations and many otherorganisations including central Government. The list isalmost interminable but it would be accurate to say thatwe continue to be active on many fronts.

An old friend has had a facelift!  Number 38 The Borough, facingCastle Street, was resplendent in July, its new white, grey andlight stone colour scheme, and contained two new 2 bedroomluxury apartments. The upper windows reflect the clear blue sky.The three eastern bays were built n 1865 and extended in 1901

2

Sadly, I have to state that my prime focus over the past twelve months has againbeen on the pending development of East Street. It has been another stormyyear. I will try to give a brief update on what has been happening.

We continue to resist the current development planning, on the basis that it istoo large, ill planned, driven by profit and does not recognise the adverse impactit will have on the environment and existing retail trade in Farnham. Nor hasthere been proper consideration to the required infrastructure to support 239flats and a 20% increase in total retail activity. We are simply asking for a smallerquality development which reflects that Farnham is a small market town.

An agreed public debate had to be restructured at short notice, when CouncillorAdam Taylor Smith the portfolio holder, refused to attend because he wasunable to achieve his final demand to supply a Chairman of his choice for themeeting. We had already given way to his many demands but the final demandcan only be seen as a deliberate step to find an excuse not to attend.

Local Councillors on Farnham Town Council voted against an application toextend the planning permission but this was voted down by Councillors whorepresent wards far away from Farnham. Consequently, our local Councillorshave fallen out of favour with their colleagues and have described the situationas “ Having been placed on the naughty step.“

Out of the discontent in the town emerged The Farnham Interest Group, whichconsists of our Society, The Farnham Building Preservation Trust and EastStreet Action. We also coordinated our efforts with the Farnham Theatre Groupand Jerry Hyman. It was agreed to launch a public appeal for funds to financeour objections to the Compulsory Purchase Orders issued by Waverley BoroughCouncil. Over a period of three weeks approximately £20,000 was raised. Afterreceiving initial advice from Counsel it was agreed that we should ask DesmondHutchinson of the local solicitors, Burkill Govier to present our case at the PublicInquiry which took place over a period of three weeks in January.

On the final day for the submission of documents to the Inspector, Waverleyannounced that they had reached a settlement with the owners of the Woolmeadand that they were therefore withdrawing their objection. Realism dictates that aconsiderable amount of extra rate payers’ money must have been offered tobreak a deadlock which had existed over many months. Whether the announce-ment of this deal on the last day for the submission of documentation wascoincidental, is a matter for speculation. Fortunately, the owners of The Marlbor-ough Head maintained their objection but decided not to be physically repre-sented at the Inquiry.

The public spotlight at the Inquiry exposed a whole range of manipulations ofthe planning process by Waverley, including political whipping, misleading

3

information, Councillors totally failing to attend key meetings, a lack of traffic andpedestrian analysis, suppression of information and finally key witnesses notbeing made available to avoid the inevitable close questioning in an attempt toexpose the facts.Conversely our own witnesses, the Farnham Town Council and Councillors,performed brilliantly. The Queen’s Council hired by Waverley was unable torattle any of the witnesses.

It is understood that the Inspector has already given his decision to the Secre-tary of State but its publication will be delayed until the Public Inquiry into theWaverley submission to close two ancient foot paths has been heard on the 9th.July and the decision published. This means that the decisions will not see thelight of day until later this year.

As an extra prong to our submissions we have sent a letter to The Secretary ofState for Communities and Local Authorities via our Member of Parliament,Jeremy Hunt, with the request:

1. To refuse to grant the Compulsory Purchase Order.2. To call a Regional Inquiry into housing and transport problems affecting thispart of the South East and including surrounding Local Authorities.3. To impose a moratorium on the East Street development pending the resultof the Regional Inquiry.

The prime reasons for this request were that local opinions had been systemat-ically ignored, that there was political strangulation within the planning processand that there had been little if any attempt, to involve and obtain the agreementof surrounding Local Authorities.

So far the only response we have had is from a Case Officer who has said thatThe Secretary of State is too busy to deal personally with the matter but in anyevent they do not have statutory powers to intervene. We find this responsetotally unacceptable and have arranged a meeting with our MP Jeremy Hunt, onthe 7th. June to ask for his involvement to ensure that our submission is at leastreferred to the Secretary of State.

Reluctantly, I have to admit that without the CPO and the request to close thefootpaths being refused, or through intervening political action, the currentprocess will grind on. However, Waverley and their commercial partner CrestNicholson Sainsbury are still failing to find the finance to support the retailelement of the planned development. Independent experts are of the view thatthis outdated development is not attractive to long term investors. This demon-strates that a bad plan created over ten years ago does not match the retailrequirements of current trading conditions and in consequence is unable to

4

attract hard nose investors. Without adequate finance the development cannotproceed.

To clear my thoughts, I recently reviewed the requirements of the originaldevelopment brief issued in 2003. This required all would be bidders for thecontract, to include the provision of a cinema, a Cobbett Clock, 400 additionalcar spaces , public conveniences, a new Gostrey Centre, retention of thebowling green, a bowling green club house, and the retention of BrightwellHouse and Garden.

In practice we have seen the removal of the bowling green and the club house,public conveniences closed without apparent future replacement, only 32 addi-tional car spaces, the Cobbett Clock requirement has been quietly forgotten andreplaced with decorative paving stones in the so called town square. Recentlywe have been forced to watch Waverley’s frantic efforts to move the Gostrey DayCentre across town to the Memorial Hall just to create more space to satisfy apossible tenant and to improve the potential profit of the developer. Withoutpublic intervention Brightwells House would have lost its status as a protectedbuilding and presumably been demolished. Even so, it is intended that a part ofthe gardens will be built upon. Covenants have been ignored and electionmanifesto promises have been broken. If you wished to find a case history onhow to alienate the public and to grossly mishandle a development project bothpolitically and commercially, you need to go no further.

Is it surprising that there is resistance to this level of indifference and theassociated deceptions and distortions? All we can do is to continue to resist andhope that there will be an acceptance that the proposed development is toolarge and inappropriate for this lovely Georgian Town. We will certainly continueto resist.My Report and comments are dominated by East Street but as previouslystated, we remain focused on all our objectives and I believe that we can claimto serve Farnham well.“

Immediately following the delivery of my report, a member of The Society, MikeBryan, announced that he was the Chairman of a new group called the Non-partisan Petition Group who were organising a petition to Her Majesty TheQueen, to remove Farnham from Waverley’s local government powers. Heproposed that The Farnham Society should give support to this venture and anensuing vote was virtually unanimous in support of this independent initiative.More information can be found on the NPG websitewww.farnhampetition2013.org

The Public Inquiry into the extinguishment of footpaths across the East Streetsite has taken place and we made strong opposing representations through TheFarnham Interest Group. We are now awaiting the Inspector’s decision which

5

will be linked with the release of the decision on the Compulsory Purchase Orderwhich was itself subject to a Public Inquiry in January.The Core Strategy is another example of failure by Waverley. Who is responsiblefor this management failure? Is it the Councillors who are unable to interpretatethe advice given by the Officers, or is it the Officers who are giving incorrectadvice? Or could it be a political doctrine which has another agenda? Whateverthe reason, despite warnings from this Society and other informed bodies,Waverley presented a defective Core Strategy, which was immediately rejectedby the Government Inspector.

We really should be receiving better management from the controlling WaverleyCouncillors and the well paid Officers. Someone is responsible but in themeantime Farnham becomes increasingly exposed to indiscriminate develop-ment.On the positive side we now have Farnham Town Council challenging some ofthe decisions coming out of Godalming and individual Councillors are alsobravely standing up and presenting a strong case on behalf of Farnham. We areat least making some progress in this area and we can only hope that this willhave an effect on long term planning arrangements.

I am reminded of the Chinese curse: “ May you live in interesting times “.Certainly living in the Farnham area does not lack interest.

SIR JOHN VERNEY by Rosemary Thomas

In 1960, the centenary edition of the Cornhill Magazine contained articles byKenneth Clark, Alan Moorhead, Osbert Lancaster and a few other writers whowere perhaps, at the time, less famous. Among the contributions was an articleby John Verney. It was called “Contact with the Devil” and it was written in thevoice of a precocious young boy called “Paul Pot”, who was compiling hisautobiography.

Of course, Paul Pot is actually John Verney and this persona allows him to usethe voice of a child to describe in innocent wonder the hypocrisy, the deceit andprejudice of the adult world. In illustrating his own reactions to his role as a LocalCouncillor he wrote “After two years on the Council I developed a death wish”.Paul Pot would have felt the same.

The usual contributor to this magazine wrote to convey the impression of aneducated mind and their texts conformed to the tastes of the supposedlycivilised and educated adult world. The innocent voice of the child revealed it asanything but. Nevertheless, the magazine described John Verney correctly notjust as an author, but also as a painter, illustrator and humorist while naming twobooks “Verney Abroad”, and “Going to the Wars” as his significantachievements. Although these autobiographical books reveal him as both

heroic and compassionate, his most significant quality, which seems to embodythe true spirit of his writing as well as his art, is his irreverence. The stupidposturing of officials in any context was the subject of his mirth and mockery.(We have to hope that he did not find this when he was Chairman of the FarnhamSociety!) His description of most committees was that they were composed of“woolly-minded sheep”.

There were two more “Episodes of Paul Pot” in the Cornhill and in each of themPaul fails to understand why it is thought desirable to be a member of theexpatriate upper classes. In his eyes, the lower classes had more fun, and weregenerally kinder to their children, whom they did not send away to school to bebrought up by strangers in England when their governesses ran out ofknowledge to impart.

Children were very important to Sir John. After the war, he settled into RunwickHouse, just outside Farnham where he and his wife Jan brought up six children.Locally, he was probably best known when Paul Pot as a persona was replacedby Lord Dodo, whose diary drawn by Sir John each year made Christmaspresent buying much less of a difficulty. The diary was full of wit and insight intothe worthies of the world, who demonstrated that they were, in the eyes of LordDodo “nothing more than woolly-minded sheep”.

Sir John’s own assessment of the problems in life was that they were besttreated lightly. Who else could have described a war-time bomb as “looking likea small Christmas pudding?” Or describe an officer as wearing the “expressionof a fastidious duchess lifting a Pekinese’s turd off her sofa”. This lightness oftouch belies the seriousness of his role in parachuting into Sardinia in a top-secret jump, being captured, and subsequently contriving a most dangerousescape.

When he was living in Farnham he became involved in local politics when hesuccessfully stood for the Council as an Independent. He was elected, despitethe opposition and distrust of the Conservatives, and finding himself at odds withthe developers who wanted to rebuild Farnham into a collection of housingestates. Destruction of the small shops on the town centre site now known asthe Woolmead was something that Sir John did not manage to prevent. But withhis two friends, Raymond Krish and Peter Drake-Wilkes he was instrumental insaving the Maltings and in promoting the activities of the then Art College,helping it to grow into the significant University that it is today.

Typically, his used his role in local politics as an Independent to exert thefreedom to support any cause that appealed to him. He was a very significantmember of the Board of Governors of the Centre for International Briefing,located at Farnham castle. In the ethic of this cause he could combine both

6

BUILDINGS OF LOCAL MERIT by David Berry

Many of the buildings in Farnham’s ‘Conservation Area’ have already been puton the National Register of listed buildings identified by English Heritage, knownas Grade 1 or Grade 2 . These officially listed properties have a high level ofprotection against any unsuitable alterations and strict controls over materialsused in any building work.

The Farnham Society has now agreed to work with Waverley Council to identifyother buildings, both inside the Conservation area and outside (including any ofFarnham’s five villages); to start to form a list of ‘Buildings of Local Merit’. Thepurpose of this is to identify properties that have a local historic, architectural orlandscape distinction. They can be anything from a modest cottage to amansion, a character shop or a Victorian factory, as long as they represent gooddesign and use of materials that add character to their surroundings. They willnot be added to the Heritage Lists, but will be offered some levels of protectionby Waverley in the event of any planning applications, and their BLM statusshould be regarded with a sense of pride.

You do not need to own a property to ask for it to be added to the list, and youdo not have to get the owner’s consent first. There will not be any extra legalduties or onerous conditions imposed on the owners, and they will be consultedby the Council.In order to avoid multiple suggestions for the same property to be on the list, andto screen out any that already have listed status, the Farnham Society hasoffered to screen the applications. All the buildings proposed will be passed onto Waverley. We are not acting as a judge. If you wish to have the applicationforms or more details, please e-mail me at dc.berry@tiscali.co.uk. You will needa photo of the property with the form.

Mr D. Berry, 16 Monks Well, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 1RH

7

history and heritage, democracy and cultural exchange, and it suited him verywell.

He continued to be unconventional. His battered hat and his bicycle wereinstantly recognisable in the town. When the Great Hall at the Castle was beingredecorated he climbed on to the scaffolding to repaint the face of the centralfemale character because he thought she was insufficiently beautiful. Turner, hesaid, would have done the same.

THE WELLESLEY DEVELOPMENT AT ALDERSHOT by Martin Lloyd FRICS

Following the Society’s AGM in May, Martin Lloyd gave us an insight into hiswork, involving the disposal of MOD land and encouraging the futuredevelopment of the large Wellesley area on ex-MOD property to the north ofAldershot. This will spread over and include many sites including retained historicbuildings, scheduled monuments and memorials, with the existing primary roadnetwork extending into new residential zones laid out in regular rectilinearpatterns. The first of these areas will be known as Maida. Provision is being made

for infrastructure needs suchas education, public openspace, sports provision,household waste recycling. Abelt of open space along theBasingstoke Canal willprovide for SANGS and otherneeds. A new neighbourhoodcentre will have a new schooland shops, connected by theprimary roads to the wholearea. The Cambridge MilitaryHospital, with its impressivetower will be retained.

Wellesley Area Development Masterplan by Adam Urbanism

Cambridge Military Hospital

8

William Cobbett (1763-1835) by Richard Thomas

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was born 250 years ago in Farnham in what is nowthe William Cobbett pub and is buried 500 yards away in St Andrewschurchyard. He is undoubtedly Farnham’s most famous son although he did notlive in Farnham again after he left for London at about the age of 20. He spent 6years in Canada while in the Army and 8 years in the USA, initially in Philadelphiaand later in Long Island. While in virtual exile in America he recalled that the townof Farnham was ‘the neatest in England and, I believe, the whole world’.Although he made his name as a crusading journalist, writing over 20m wordswith a quill pen, he was always at heart a farmer. He farmed in Botley, Hants,from 1805-1820, then ran a seed business in Kensington and from 1832 until hisdeath he rented a 160 acre farm at Normandy, near Woking.

His fame today is muted and rests on Hansard (which he started, but is nowknown by the name of the printer to whom he sold his ‘Parliamentary Record’)and on Rural Rides which contains description of his journeys around southernEngland on horseback, sometimes with his son Richard. The book containsboth lyrical descriptions of the English countryside and its glories as well asscathing attacks on corrupt bankers and politicians. He writes movingly and ofcourse with an insider’s knowledge, about the gradual but continuous decline inthe quality of life of the rural labourers. The fact that the book is still in print afternearly 200 years gives some idea of its significance.

He should be better known today: as the most famous and effectivecampaigning journalist and polemicist of the early 19C; as the person whostopped the Americans from joining with the French in the Anglo-French/Napoleonic wars; as the author of bestselling books such as the EnglishGardener, Cottage Economy, An English Grammar, and a History of the‘Reformation’; and as a campaigner against the cruel Game Laws and the evencrueller Poor Laws which established the workhouses. He was always a strongsupporter of Catholic emancipation (hence the presence of Daniel O’Connell athis funeral).

Perhaps his most famous campaigns were against political corruption and forpolitical and parliamentary reforms. He was instrumental in getting the 1832Reform Act passed. Farnham residents showed strong support for his efforts:When the Bishops voted against the Bill in the House of Lords, they burnt aneffigy of the Bishop of Winchester in Castle St. Cobbett became MP for Oldhamfor the last 4 years of his life (Winston Churchill was also MP for Oldham from1900-06) . Although he became an MP, he failed to stop the revisions to the PoorLaw and saw only too clearly the price the poor would continue to pay.

9

His political campaigning may have ended successfully with his election toParliament but it came at considerable personal cost. By 1809 he was alreadyunpopular with the government, because of his campaigning, and on the adviceof his well-connected friends resolved to cut back on the vigour of his attacks.However, in 1809 he was so angered by the use of German mercenaries to flogBritish soldiers that he let fly. Some were sentenced to 500 lashes for relativelyminor offences—a virtual death sentence. The government sued him forseditious libel (which essentially meant annoying the government) and bypacking the jury ensured that he was convicted. The defence of ‘telling the truth’was not admissible in those days. Having been found guilty he spent two yearsin Newgate prison. Unsurprisingly he emerged embittered but vowed to keep onfighting against the system- and fight it he did. Over 20 years later he persuadeda jury not to convict him for comments about rick burning and the destruction ofthreshing machines. He was able to prove that he had never encouragedviolence as a means to achieve political reform, and he subpoena’d the PrimeMinister to attend his trial as a witness for the defence.

Perhaps the reason he is less well known than writers such as Dickens is that hewrote passionately about everything but did not do one thing supremely well.His attacks on all elements of the establishment meant that no one in power waslikely to champion his cause. Nevertheless, he is someone Farnham should beproud of - for his eloquence, his passion, his humour and his refusal to be‘bought’ or swayed by the smooth-tongued politicians, the party hacks and thecorrupt lawyers of his day: he refused the offer of a government job and pensionearly in his career so he could be his own man. We could use more people likehim in public life today.During his Anniversary year the William Cobbett Society, based in Farnham, hasarranged, sponsored or encouraged, with help from the Tindle Newspapers,The Town Council, Surrey County Council, The Farnham Institute and manyothers a wide range of events. Lectures on Cobbett have been given to localRotary, Church and Historical societies as well as to the Farnham U3A (April 8th),the Farnham Society (June 5th) and the Cobbetts Wey DFAS (June 26th). Aday-long Seminar on Cobbett was given for the U3A Surrey Network at theMenuhin Hall, Stoke D’Abernon. A double bill ‘A Toast to Mr Cobbett’ and ‘I amCobbett’, written and produced by Luath Grant Ferguson was given threesell-out performances at the Maltings (April 19/20th); a week later a furthersell-out performance was given at the Friends Meeting House in Alton.

Another highlight was the Waverley Singers world premiere, at their AnnualConcert on June 15th, of a song about Cobbett entitled ‘The Mind that Lives’. Itwas written by well-known local composer Will Todd who also wrote ‘The Call ofWisdom’ which was performed at the Queens Diamond Jubilee at St PaulsCathedral in June 2012.

10

Further afield there were, around the period of his birthday, articles in the Timesand the Guardian, and a spread in the Oldham Chronicle. Parliament itself haspublished an Early Day Motion (No 1264) recognising Cobbett’s achievementsand congratulating the William Cobbett Society for keeping his memory alive.Still to come in this Anniversary Year is the Annual Cobbett Society lecture onFriday, Oct 11th in the Great Hall of the Maltings. It will be delivered by the wellknown prize winning journalist Michael Buerk (10 O’Clock News and The MoralMaze)

In late October a new Collection of Cobbett’s writings entitled ‘The Opinions ofWilliam Cobbett’and is being published by Ashgate Publishing. It will contain acommentary by three academic members of the William Cobbett Society.

Meanwhile the Museum of Farnham exhibition on Cobbett continues untilDecember. It was opened on Cobbett’s actual birthday, March 9th, by JeremyHunt PC, MP. The exhibition contains a description of the main periods in his lifeand has pictures, cartoons and artefacts from the period.

FARNHAM SOCIETY COFFEE MORNING AT FRENSHAM MILL

by kind invitation of Mr and Mrs HolmesThere has been a mill at Frensham since the 13th century. The mill was rebuilt onnumerous occasions, most recently in 1876 to create what was possibly thelargest mill in Surrey. It continued working commercially until the early 20th

century. The main mill building was demolished in 1922, when the existinghouse was built in its place, as a private residence. Some of the outbuildingswere retained, including the Granary, which has been restored recently by thecurrent owners.

The new residence continued to make use of water power, with a water turbineinstalled at the old mill race. This wasused to generate electricity for thehouse, and was in service until the1950s. During the last five years, newgenerating equipment has beeninstalled. This uses an ArchimedesScrew, selected in preference to aturbine as it will operate from a lowhead of water and does not requirefine screening. It has a generatingcapacity of 11 kW, providing up to

11

70,000 KwH per year, sufficient topower 14 average homes. Thesystem incorporates automaticcontrol of river levels via a sluicegate. The plan was to achievepayback within 10 years.Environment Agency approval wasconditional upon the inclusion of ameans to allow fish to pass theequipment. This was achieved bymeans of a fish ladder upstream ofthe mill. Incorporation of thisincreased the payback period to over 12 years. The equipment started generatingelectricity early in 2012.

ST MARY THE VIRGINCHURCHThe morning concluded with avisit to the St Mary the Virginchurch in Frensham, where wewere met by Rev Jane Walker.

This church dates from theMediaeval period, having beendedicated during the 13th

century. A substantial part ofthe building is from the 13th and14th centuries, with additionsmade during Victorian times.The church is currentlyundergoing a £1/2M alterationto add an extension to the northside. This replaces the existingchurch hall, a Victorian buildingon opposite side of the road.We were able to see the work inprogress – the extension isconstructed with a block innerwall, and Purbeck stone outer.The stone mason is working at1 m2 per day. The work is duefor completion in the summer of

12

13

MARSHALL BARNES – THE ARTIST by Anne Pullinger

You may have recently heardabout a booklet that has beenproduced by the Farnham andDistrict Museum Society onthe Artist Marshall Barnes whowas well known in Farnham inthe 1950’s for his pen and inkdrawings of buildings andviews of the Farnham area.

What may not be so widelyknown is that Marshall Barneswas the grandson of Thomas Robjohns Wonnacott, the well-known architectand artist who designed amongst other buildings the United Reformed Churchin South Street, and was a Methodist lay preacher who also served on theFarnham Board, the fore-runner of Farnham Urban District Council.

Alfred Henry Marshall Barnes known as Marshall Barnes was born on 27th July1889 in Blisworth, in the county ofNorthampton. His paternalgrandmother was Sarah Marshall, thisbeing the origin of ‘Marshall’ in hisname. His father, Alfred George, aBaptist Minister, died in 1890 aged 31.His mother took him to live with Thomasand Sarah Wonnacott in Falmouth in1891. To support her son Ellen becamea singing teacher.

In 1901 the Wonnacott family were living in Portsmouth and in 1911 they wereat Devonshire house in Farnham. Thomas retired in 1902 and died in 1918. Hiswife Sarah had died previously in 1912.

By 1911 Marshall Barnes was 21 and an art student. He may have attendedFarnham Art School, then in South Street. After his mother died in 1939, aged79. he continued to live at Farnham, in Alfred Road, Park Row and Bear Lane.During World War II he worked at Gale and Poldens, the Aldershot printers. Helater worked at the Castle Theatre in Castle Street as a Make-up Artist and alsoa scenic Artist.

Frank Pullinger commissioned him to draw local views for greetings cards,notelets, postcards and prints for framing. All these were sold in Pullinger’sStationers in West Street when Frank was the owner. During the 1960’s Frank

Pullinger published two booklets athis shop. One was ViewingFarnham, a pocket sized guide toFarnham. The other was of largerformat: A Pen portrays Farnham. Toillustrate these booklets FrankPullinger used Marshall Barnes’pen and ink drawings which hehad been selling in the shop aspostcards etc. Farnham - A Memoirof the Artist Marshall Barnes hasbeen edited and updated from thetwo original publications and is available in Pullingers, the Museum of Farnhamand the Rural Life Centre, priced £5. It has been so popular that the first print runhas sold out and it is being re-printed by the Farnham and District Museumsociety.

Marshall Barnes died on 2nd April 1963 in Harestone Nursing Home inCaterham, aged 73.

14

FRENSHAM COMMON by Steve Webster – Waverley Borough CouncilCountryside Ranger for Frensham Common

A talk was given by Steve Webster on Frensham Common. It coversapproximately 950 acres, and is owned by the National Trust. Just over 830acres however, is leased to Waverley Borough Council, who manage it underthe terms of a lease. Over the years various grants have supported themanagement of the site, with Natural England contributing £50 per hectareunder the terms of a Countryside Stewardship grant. In 2008 Waverley wereasked to apply for Higher Level Stewardship, which increased payments to £200per hectare. After many months of planning and consultation this applicationwas successful, with payments starting in April 2010. The scheme is to run until2020 and is designed to take the management forward with capital investmentin the land management.

In summary, the scheme will see the creation of an additional 27 hectares ofheathland from relatively barren pine plantation. In the winter of 2011-12 this sawapproximately 15,000 tons of timber, in the form of logs and woodchip, enteringthe bio fuel chain, with some 900 tons going to heat the terminals at Heathrowairport. In addition, water resources are being managed with the aid ofreplacement sluices, and a string of new ponds have been dug to providehabitat for invertebrates and the only colony of the rare natterjack toad in Surrey.

SELF GOVERNMENT FOR FARNHAM by Mike Bryan

15

Through careful management of the existing heath, re-establishment of heathfrom pine woods and the opening up of “corridors” for wildlife to spread morenaturally it is hoped that by the end of the scheme, Frensham will be a morerobust and species rich environment.

Farnham Town Council’s Annual Electors’ Meeting voted overwhelmingly toinvestigate a split from Waverley Borough. A ‘Non-partisan Petition Group forFarnham as District Authority’ (NPG for short) was formed on 10 May topetition the Queen for agreement to split from the Borough, and receivedoverwhelming support at the Farnham Society’s AGM.For the last 10 years or more, Farnham has been disadvantaged by the lackof effective democratic process and accountability at Waverley. BecauseWBC hasn’t effectively engaged Farnham people and neighbouringauthorities on Farnham’s behalf, they’ve made unbalanced decisions withincreasingly bad long-term consequences. This is demonstrated by 3 bigissues related to Farnham’s historic character and culture:· Waverley’s Core (development) Strategy is stalled, unjust and

unbalanced. It puts one third of WBC’s development into Farnham.(See: www.farnhampetition2013 org/wbc-strategy)

· The 10-year saga of plans to redevelop East Street: an unfunded over-development with significant loss of amenities. It’s on track to makeFarnham look more like a characterless clone-town, with more emptyshops and increasing social ills.

· Creaking infrastructure: already overloaded roads, with worse to come,and inadequate school places for a generation.

Democracy is based on trust through constructive engagement. Democracyfails when governments lose trust. Farnham has lost trust in WBC, but theLocalism Act has raised people’s awareness and expectations. FarnhamPetition 2013 seeks good governance in our local government through returnof Farnham’s independent authority status. Farnham’s case for self-government and details of where to sign the Petition are available at:www.farnhampetition2013.org andwww.facebook.com/FarnhamPetition2013 and through 079-4015-2012.

NEW MEMBERSThe society welcomes the following new members:

Mrs Dorothy Allen Mrs Hillary Burroughs Mrs Jane DunneMr & Mrs Brian Martin Mrs Jennifer Noel

16

PLANNING REPORT by Andy MacLeod, Planning Committee Chairman

The major planning issues in relation to Farnham in the last 6 months

Waverley Borough Council Core Strategy

Waverley’s Core Strategy is part one of the Local Plan for the Borough. It sets outthe policies on location, scale and timing of new development up to 2028. Theplan proposes 5060 new dwellings in Waverley in the 22 year planning periodfrom 2006/7 to 2027/8, which averages to 230 per annum. 1829 of thesedwellings are due to be built in Farnham (83 per annum). 434 of these dwellingsare planned by Waverley to be built on greenfield land surrounding the town asinsufficient brownfield land has to date been identified in Farnham to meet thehousing target.

On 31 January 2013, Waverley submitted the Core Strategy to the Secretary ofState. An initial hearing session with a Planning Inspector took place on 5 June2013.  The Inspector adjourned the hearing at the end of day 1 and wrote toWaverley indicating that he could not find the Core Strategy to be sound as it didnot meet the stated annual housing need for the Borough of 706 additionaldwellings.

The Inspector has recommended to Waverley that it should withdraw its CoreStrategy, conduct a new review of housing need and of possible locations forhousing and submit a new Core Strategy. Waverley does not wish to do this, butto continue with a modified version of the existing Core strategy.

An Exploratory Meeting has been set up for 8th August for the Council to presentits case to the inspector to continue with a modified version of the existing CoreStrategy.

The Society is concerned that whatever route forward is adopted the likelyoutcome will be a significant increase in the level of housing developmentplanned for Farnham. This is could be well substantially above the traditionallevel of housing development in Farnham. This will be opposed by the Societyas the town’s infrastructure and services would be over stretched by too rapiddevelopment to the detriment of the town and its residents.

Farnham Neighbourhood PlanThe Localism Act 2011 introduces statutory Neighbourhood Planning inEngland. It enables communities to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan for their areaand is intended to give communities more of a say in the development of theirlocal area (within certain limits and parameters).Farnham Town Council has the responsibility to produce the NeighbourhoodPlan. This is currently in its third draft after extensive consultation with localresidents and businesses in the town.

17

The core messages of the National Planning Policy Framework have all beenadopted in the Plan, as required by the Localism Act:

· Development will be concentrated on brown-field land· The mix of housing will meet local need· Development will be in sustainable locations· There will be appropriate development in the town centre with a mix of

uses· Heritage and cultural assets will be protected and enhanced· Biodiversity will be preserved and increased· Development will mitigate against the effects of climate change

The society has contributed to the Neighbourhood Plan and is stronglysupportive of the work being carried out by the Town Council in this area.

East Street/Brightwells

The East Street, now renamed Brightwells, development has not commenced inearly 2013 on the main Brightwells site as predicted in Waverley’s leaflet toresidents issued in late 2012. This was never actually likely as, over three yearsafter planning permission was granted for the development, funding for theretail/commercial part of the development has still not been obtained.

However in preparation for the relocation of the tennis courts the riverside sitehas been cleared. This will allow the overhead electrical cables to be buried inAugust/September, should the council wish to proceed with this stage of theproject. This period of lower reduced electricity demand is the only time in theyear when this can take place.

The outcome of the public inquiries held at the Bush Hotel into the compulsorypurchase of the Marlborough Head public house and the extinguishment of thepublic rights of way on footpaths in the Brightwells site are awaited. As part ofthe Farnham Interest Group, the Society opposed both of these orders. TheSociety is grateful to the many society members and members of the Farnhampublic, who gave financial support towards the legal costs involved.

The Society is supportive of the appropriate regeneration of the Brightwells areabut remains opposed to the current Waverley/Crest Nicholson planneddevelopment

Planning Developments in FarnhamDecided

· The redeveloped BUPA Care Home in Waverley Lane, now renamedWaverley Grange is almost complete

· Mulberry Place, Frensham Road, Lower Bourne - development offourteen 2,3 and 4 bedroom houses now complete

· Land Adjoining Bourne Mill, Guildford Road - the erection of 16dwellings and 70 bed care home, together with access and communalopen space, allowed at appeal.

· Bishops Table Hotel – Full permission for the erection of a building toprovide additional hotel accommodation together with extension andalterations to existing building

· Wrecclesham Club And Institute - Full permission for the change ofuse of Wrecclesham Club (Class A4), ancillary flat and erection ofextension and alterations to provide 9 flats following demolition ofexisting extensions.

Pending Decision:· Land South of Ash Lodge Drive, Ash, Guildford - outline application

for the development of up to 400 residential dwellings· Former Police Station, Long Bridge, Farnham Erection of a building

to provide 50 sheltered flats with communal facilities including formationof a new vehicular access together with car parking, landscaping andassociated works following demolition of existing police buildingsRefused and appealed.

· Land North East of Gully Copse, Cheeks Farm Lane, Bentley, Alton.-21,000 Panels Solar Park – refused by East Hants, appealed

· Weydon County Secondary School, Weydon Lane Consultationunder Regulation 3 for 1) demolition of single storey structure andconstruction of single and two storey extensions; elevational changes toexisting buildings; reorganisation of playing field and construction of 2synthetic turf pitches, 6 tennis courts and associated ground works,retaining walls and perimeter fencing; construction of new access fromGreenfield Road with associated parking and landscaping; (fullpermission). 2) Removal of other structures and erection of 5266m2floor space of new educational buildings and laying out of 25 parkingspaces with layout, scale, appearance and landscaping reserved(outline).

· Travis Perkins, West Street - Erection of 22 dwellings with associatedparking, new pedestrian and vehicle access and landscaping followingthe demolition of existing buildings.

Possible Developments:· Patrick Stonemasons Site, Guildford Road - Three storey 60 bed

Premier Inn hotel and 190 cover Beefeater pub/restaurant & car parking· Former Police Houses, Long Bridge, Farnham – Redevelopment of

the 6 former police houses· The Woolmead – The Town Council is in discussion with F&C Reit Asset

Management on its proposals for the redevelopment of the WoolmeadThe Planning Committee reviewed 220 planning applications in the 4 monthsfrom April to July. Most of these were for minor building works. The Committeecommented on 11 to Waverley.18

GREYWELL HILL HOUSE VISIT

Despite the appalling weather on 24th May this visit was a bit special. Only opento the public by arrangement, this Grade II listed house is the home of the Earlof Malmesbury, and he and his wife made us most welcome.

Bought by Sir Guy Carleton, later BaronDorchester, in 1787 the original farmhousehas been extended and altered over time andis still occupied by his direct descendants.

After coffee, our group split into two, andwhile one half was taken round the house byLord Malmesbury, who enthusiasticallytraced his family history for us via the manyportraits throughout the house , JennyThorpe led the remainder of the group to the12th century Norman church of St Swithun’s atnearby Nately Scures. There her painstakingresearch on the Carletons and their heirs wasput to good use in explaining the variousmemorial plaques in the church. After a briefimpromptu organ recital by one of ourmembers (see picture) a quick look at StMary’s church, Greywell led this group backto the house.

Our planned lunch on theterrace was not to be, but logfires in many of the roomsmore than compensated, and aglass of Prosecco with oursandwiches, filled with thingslike venison and game from theestate, quelled anydisappointment about that.In the afternoon the groupschanged over and a superbday ended with tea “in some ofthe nicer china” according toour host.

Memorial plaque to General ThomasCarleton

19

VISIT TO PARHAM HOUSE, SUSSEX on 4th July

Parham (pronounced“Parram”) is a delightfulElizabethan H-plan house,centred around a traditionalGreat Hall and with aspectacular Long Gallery.Simon Jenkins, in his bookEngland’s Thousand BestHouses rated it in the toptwenty, and it was not difficultto see why as we enjoyed aguided tour on the of thehouse before it opened to thepublic for the day.

Set in a 17c deer park belowthe South Downs, the househas a fine collection of furniture and paintings (Lely, Romney, Gainsborough),and one of the most important collections of 17c embroidery in the country, withan unparalleled group of Stuart embroidered pictures and panels, together withcovers for furniture, bed hangings of superb quality, horse furniture, samplersand many other items. There are also representative examples of work from the18c – 20c.

After lunch, either in the Big Kitchen displaying row upon row of copper utensils,or with a picnic in the grounds, we enjoyed the wonderful four-acre walledgarden with its vast borders and parterres, an orchard, greenhouse, and awendy house like no other, complete with fireplace and chimney. Fresh flowersare cut for arrangements throughout the house and sometimes as many as thirtybuckets of flowers and greenery are cut each week.

20

A little coda to our visit was in the barn where plants are sold – a swallow’s nest inthe rafters with the female darting back and forth to feed her four chicksprecariously perched on a beam, ignoring the constant stream of plant buyers.Many of those were FS members and the storage bay of our coach for the journeyhome was testament to that!

A Parham ‘receipt’ from an 18th century Parham recipe book:

To cure the itchTake 2 pennyworth of white Lead, 2 penny worth of roach-allom, one nutmeg, halfan Ounce of Flower of Brimstone, boyle all these in a quart of Cream, & dress yourSelf every night by a Fire going to bed. Take flower of Brimstone 3 or 4 morningsbefore you anoint your Self.

Every time I pass the Seven Stars pub in East Street, from Woolmead Way, my eye is assaultedafresh by the unsightly alterations to the back of the building. The Seven Stars, like theMarlborough Head and the Jolly Farmer in Runfold, was reconstructed by Harold Falkner inthe 1930s in a pseudo-Tudor style with brick, timber and tiles. The building deserved betterthan this eyesore.

The clumsy geometry and shallow sloping roof shapes of the rear extensions bear no relationto the main building, but the worst thing is without doubt the great expanse of new machine-made tiles with their glaring colour, which fights with the colour of the brickwork. Theredesigned East Street frontage is equally out of keeping, with its flat plate glass moderndoors.

The building is not in the Conservation Area but it is a good building which should have beentreated with more respect. The selection of good materials is crucial and Farnham is a townmade beautiful by the softly glowing colours of its locally made bricks and tiles. Waverleyplanners had placed a condition on planning permission requiring prior approval of materialsso the fault is theirs. Reclaimed tiles, or ideally new handmade ones, would have greatlylessened the unpleasant impact of the rear extensions.

Sue FarrowDippenhall.

One hopes that the use of appropriate materials will be enforced on the Police Station sitedevelopment. - Editor

READERS’ LETTERS

If you’d rather save paper (and our postage cost) and receive this newsletter byemail, please let us know. Contact us at

21

THE FARNHAM SOCIETY AND THE BATTLE OF MOOR PARKBy Alan Gavaghan

Five hundred townsmen supported by a sprinkling of women descended onMoor Park House and by using sticks, crowbars and sledgehammers,persuaded the twelve defenders to stand aside and proceeded to breach theillegally locked gates. The leader of the assault party was Mr Henry Frost, theTown Surveyor of Farnham District Council. In 1897 it appears that the localplanning authority officials had a more hands-on approach when public rights-of-way were challenged.This was one of the interesting snippets of information delivered to a packedmeeting organised by The Farnham Society at St. Joan’s Centre. The talk on AGarden History of Moor Park was delivered by Maralyn Sharpe on behalf ofFrancesca Bois, Susan Hickman and Rosemary Jakes. These ladies, asmembers of the Farnham Decorative Fine Arts Society, had been involved for aperiod of twelve years in research to produce a definitive book covering theperiod from 1216 to 2000.

The original garden had been created by Sir William Temple, and its grandeurwas such, that visitors came from many countries to admire the exotic plantsand the magnificent garden architecture. On Sir William’s death, he was buriedin Westminster Abbey but his love of the gardens was such that his willstipulated that his heart should be buried under a fountain in the main garden.Where it presumably remains to this day but unfortunately, the precise spotremains unknown.

The audience was lead through 800 years of history as the fortunes of thegardens ebbed and flowed. Each owner left their marks in a variety of ways,including growing exotic tropical plants, building a canal, creating an island,building a reservoir and even constructing an ice house, which exists to this day.

It was explained that the research was almost completed when it wasannounced that the house was to be redeveloped into apartments and buildingwork would be taking place in the walled garden. It is likely that much of thevisual evidence pieced together would have disappeared during the course ofthe construction work.

The resulting book will undoubtedly become a prime source of reference in thefuture and copies have been placed with The Museum of Farnham, SurreyGardens Trust, the Rural Life Centre at Tilford and the Surrey History Centre atWoking.

It proved to be an interesting and entertaining evening with the capacityaudience dispersing armed with more knowledge of one fascinating aspect ofthe rich history of Farnham and its surrounds.

22

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS

The Society relies on membership subscriptions in order to fulfil its vital role inpromoting the highest standards of planning, architecture and trafficmanagement in Farnham and acting as a watchdog to guard against planningproposals or activities which may threaten to destroy the beauty of the town –never more necessary than now with the looming East Street threat.Subscriptions also enable us to send all members two comprehensivenewsletters a year keeping you informed and up to date on the Society’s activities.

Unfortunately many of you have either not paid your subscription for this year,or have not altered your Standing Order since rates were increased last year.This involves our Membership Secretary in a huge amount of time and effortcontacting the members concerned.

May we remind you that SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE DUE BY 1st APRIL EACHYEAR

The fact that you receive a Spring newsletter and programme card is NOTconfirmation of payment.

If you pay by Standing Order please check with your bank that it is for the correctamount.If you do not pay by Standing Order please consider doing so (forms availablefrom the Membership Secretary, details below). Otherwise, if you did not payyour subscription in April, and have not done so subsequently, please send acheque to the Membership Secretary now and ensure that payment for next yearreaches him by 1st April 2014.

Non- payment will mean you no longer receive a newsletter or informationon Farnham Society events.

Annual subscription rates are:

David Berry - Membership Secretary16 Monks Well tel: 01252 781801Farnham GU10 1RH email: dc.berry@tiscali.co.uk

Individual member £12Senior member (over 65) £10Life member £125

Couples £20Senior couples (one over 65) £18Couples – life members £200

23

24 Editor, and design: Simon Bradbury and Mike Clements 26.07.12 Printed by Riverprint Ltd, 9 Riverside Park, Farnham, Surrey

2013-14 PROGRAMME

EVENING TALKS

8:00 pm at St. Joan's Centre(next to St.Joan's R.C. Church)Tilford Road, Farnham GU9 8DJMembers £2, Non-members £5,Students £1.50.Includes welcoming drinks at7.30 pm.

Monday 21 October 2013Remembering Sir John VerneyofFarnham 1913 – 1993by Michael Blower and otherpeople who knew him

Wednesday 20 November2013Father Robo’s Farnham 1903 -1972by Rosemary Wisbey

Monday 20 January 2014A Virtual Tour through theEdwardian Military Camp atAldershot in 1910by Paul Vickers

Monday 17 March 2014The Joe Lyons Story -Food for Thoughtby Neville Lyons

FARNHAM'S HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2013

Thursday 12th. September - Sunday 15th. September.

Free admission to all venues, tours and events.

Historic buildings all over the town and surrounding area will beopen for Farnham’s Heritage Open Days, with exciting family-friendly events at the Museum of Farnham and the Bishops’ Palaceat the castle on the Sunday. This year’s special anniversaries offamous Farnham men, William Cobbett, George Sturt and Sir JohnVerney will be celebrated, with performances, readings andexhibitions. Sir John Verney, who did so much for conservation inFarnham, will be remembered with an exhibition of his paintings andfurniture at the museum, and also with an exhibition called “NewUses for Old Buildings”, prepared by Michael Blower, at theMaltings, illustrating projects by the Farnham Trust together withwork by the University for the Creative Arts, the Rural Life Centre,and in Cracow, Poland.Details of all the special events and properties open are on theFarnham Society’s website, www.farnhamsociety.org.uk, also thetown council www.farnham.gov.uk, and the full programme bookletwill be available in public buildings in the town.