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.
Read more about Farnham Royal: Demography, Education
Famous quotes containing the words farnham and/or royal:
“Each of the Arts whose office is to refine, purify, adorn, embellish and grace life is under the patronage of a Muse, no god being found worthy to preside over them.”
—Eliza Farnham (1815–1864)
“Are you there, Africa with the bulging chest and oblong thigh? Sulking Africa, wrought of iron, in the fire, Africa of the millions of royal slaves, deported Africa, drifting continent, are you there? Slowly you vanish, you withdraw into the past, into the tales of castaways, colonial museums, the works of scholars.”
—Jean Genet (1910–1986)