THERE cannot be many towns in England with such a rich surviving record of its own architectural history, as Farnham. Blessed by locally raised architects such as Sir Edwin Lutyens and Harold Falkner among others, the town also benefited from enlightened efforts to conserve and preserve its architectural and urban heritage in the post-war period.

The town has also been home to other less visible architectural endeavours that have contributed to ensure Farnham has kept certain traditions alive – Charles Borelli, Guy Maxwell Aylwin, Arthur Stedman and Michael Blower have all played significant roles in agitating for a sensitive renewal and restoration of the town’s fabric, in spite of huge economic pressure to rebuild and develop.

The archives of Harold Falkner survive in parts at the Museum of Farnham, as do those of Lutyens at the RIBA Drawings Collection held at the V&A. In addition, the Blower Foundation holds the entire archive of the Stedman Blower Practice going back to the earliest days of Arthur Stedman in 1895 and now also holds the remaining archives of Guy Maxwell Aylwin. Altogether, these records add up to a significant trove of images of the development of Farnham over the last 125 years or so.

The Stedman Blower archive is particularly extensive, with tens of thousands of documents recording projects both built and unbuilt around the town. Arthur Stedman and Michael Blower bookend a century of architectural practice between 1895 and 1995, their eponymous practice - Stedman Blower - still operating today after 120 years in Farnham. During the forthcoming Heritage Week, it is possible to see a brief survey of just some of the thousands of buildings, designs and projects completed by the practice over this time. Farnham perhaps is not unfortunate, in Stedman Blower, to have one of the oldest continuing architectural practices in the country, probably one of only a handful to have been operating across three centuries.

The ‘Stedmans & Blowers - 120 years of a Farnham practice’ exhibition is being staged in the Long Kiln Gallery at the Farnham Maltings from 9am - 5pm up to September 24.