Frensham

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Frensham

Coordinates: 51.1627° N 0.799° W
Population	<3,000
OS grid reference	SU840410
District	Waverley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Farnham
Postcode district	GU10
Dial code	01252
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	South West Surrey
European Parliament	South East England
List of places: UK • England • Surrey

Frensham is just off the A287, 20km south west of Guildford. Neighbouring villages include Millbridge, Shortfield Common, Dockenfield, Spreakley, Batt's Corner and Rushmoor. Frensham lies on the River Wey. Farnham is the nearest main town and it is 5 km to the north. The majority of the land around Frensham is located in the Green Belt. The non-agricultural land surrounding the village is mainly open heathland and birch woodland.

The census area Frensham, Dockingfield and Tilford has a population of 3,961.^[1]

Planning permission is being discussed for a potential mineral zone for the extraction of sand and gravel near Frensham Manor.^[2]

Frensham Common is owned by the National Trust and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It covers approximately 1000 acres^[3] and comprises a large area of heathland, together with some coniferous and mixed woodland. There are two large ponds, known as Frensham Great and Little Ponds, which were built in the Middle Ages to provide fish for the Bishop of Winchester's estate.

1 History
2 St Mary's Church
3 Population
4 Today
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Mesolithic camp or living sites have been discovered around Frensham.^[4] Hundreds of Bronze Age arrow heads have been found around Frensham and there there are several tumuli (burial sites). In 688 AD, King Caedwalla of Wessex made a charter conveying to the Catholic church 60 hides of land that included Farnham, Frensham and Churt. This became the property of Hedda, the Bishop of Winchester.

The origins of the name Frensham come from 'Frena's ham'. Frena was the name of either a Danish Earl who was killed in the battle of Ashdown in the year 871, or a Saxon who was driven south from Northumberland by the Danes in 993. The second part 'ham' means 'settlement', and is also from where we get the word 'home', so Frensham is 'Frena's settlement'.

The castle was started in the 12th century, it was an important residence of the Bishop of Winchester. There is evidence of ridge and furrow cultivation on the slope south of the avenue leading to the castle.^[5]

In 1348, Frensham suffered from the plague. Before it ceased in 1350, 52 farms around became desolate.

During the English Civil War, the Frensham castle was occupied by Parliamentary forces opposed to King Charles I. The troops were billeted in the park. There were attempts by Royalist troops to recapture the castle from their encampment on the heathland above the park. On November 28, 1643, a Royalist Army of 8,000 soldiers assembled to attack the Parliamentary forces under the cover of mist. However, the defenders were alerted by the noise of the troop movements and used the castle cannon to disperse the attackers and the Royalists retreated after a series of cavalry skirmishes.

After the Civil War, Frensham castle and park lay in ruins. The park fences or pales were torn down and large numbers of the deer had been killed. Squatters were living within the park boundary. With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Bishops returned to the area. Bishop Morley sold the Old Park to pay for repairs to the Castle and he also renewed the fences of the New Park and reintroduced the deer. He built the Ranger's House in the centre of the park which became the residence of the keeper of the park until the 20th century. During this time a fine elm avenue was planted, over a kilometre long, it stretched the entire width of the park. It was severely affected by Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s and has been replaced by lime and beech trees.

Locally clay was extracted from around Frensham for Farnham Pottery.

In the 17th century, farmers focused primarily on hop growing and sheep rearing.

During the Second World War, tanks based in the Headley area used Frensham Common for training.^[6] Whilst Canadian soldiers used to gallop across the Common.^[7] At this time, Frensham Great and Little Ponds were drained as otherwise they would have provided markers for German bombers.^[8]

[edit] St Mary's Church

Originally a chapelry of Farnham, the present St Mary's church was dedicated in 1239, having been moved from its previous site on low ground beside the River Wey. The move was probably due to the massive storms of the 1230s which flooded Waverley Abbey (6 km downstream) to a depth of 1.75m.

The chancel is the oldest part of the church, its walls being those of the original building, the 13th century niches, piscina and aumbry. The tower is 14th century, with massive diagonal buttresses and eight bells dated between 1627 and the 19th century. The porch is restored but is believed to be 15th century. The north aisle was built in 1827, and the whole church was subject to a major restoration in 1868.

The font, of Purbeck marble, is early medieval but its carvings are nearly obliterated. The organ was installed in 1871 with subsequent modernisations. The exterior of the building is of local sandstone, flint and rubble, with evidence of endless repair and reconstruction.^[9]

[edit] Population

The population of Frensham in 1851 was 714.^[10] Today the area of Frensham, Dockenfield and Tilford has a total population of 3,961.^[11]

[edit] Today

Frensham Post office and village shop is a community run shop and has celebrated its tenth anniversary.

There are three local schools: St Mary's Church of England Infants' School, Frensham Heights and Edgeborough.

Frensham Great Pond extends over 100 acres and is a centre for sailing activities.^[12] In the summer, Surrey County Council provides a lifeguard to supervise the swimming area. However, the pond often suffers from eutrophication due to excess run-off of nitrate fertilisers from nearby arable land. The prescence of the blue-green algae means that swimming is dangerous and therefore not permitted. The smaller Frensham Little Pond is a scenic area for picnics - no swimming or sailing is permitted here.