Museum of Farnham

The Museum still has many of its original features and at the rear is a charming walled garden complimenting the building. The Museum also boasts a well stocked, studies library for local history queries. Plus, a wide range of children’s activities and temporary exhibitions are organised throughout the year.   

The Museum’s permanent exhibits are displayed in 5 themed rooms. The remaining public display room is used for temporary exhibitions.  

• The Introductory room aims to provide visitors with a simple historical framework for the history of the town, from prehistoric times to the present day.

• The Art and Architecture room traces the contribution made to the town’s architectural heritage by the artist William Herbert Allen (1863 -1943), architect and artist Harold Falkner (1875-1963) and the local dignitary Charles Ernest Borelli (1873 – 1950). The room also displays the famous Farnham Greenware, which was made at Harris’s Pottery in Wrecclesham until World War II. 

• The Town Life room focuses upon the life of Farnham people in war and peace, sickness and health, their local services, schools, shops and leisure activities. The walls above the magnificent 18th century staircase display a collection of work by local artist, Stephen Elmer (1715 -1796).  Elmer owned the houses now occupied by the Museum, although he had his studio in a house nearby.

• On the First Floor is a room that traces the development of Farnham along the old road from London to Winchester. Although Farnham had great strategic importance in the middle ages and the English Civil War, the traffic through Farnham did not increase significantly until the time of the turnpikes. After local inventor John Henry Knight built the first petrol driven motor car in 1895, the town became a centre for motor car building. The room showcases many of John Henry Knights’s photographs and inventions and a display recording the career of late Farnham motor racing hero, Mike Hawthorn.

• The Countryside room features the life of Farnham’s country people as viewed through the eyes of two famous writers, William Cobbett (1763 – 1835) and George Sturt (1863-1927). Displays include a collection of Cobbett memorabilia and relics of the hops and brewing industry that once brought the town prosperity.  

The Museum has a free audio tour.

For more information visit the Museum of Farnham website or contact 01252 715094.