Despite the miserable weather conditions last Saturday, more than 100 people accepted the Farnham & District Museum Society’s (F&DMS) invitation to an open day at the museum’s Garden Gallery, when it launched the latest of its publications – The Town of Farnham by Pat Heather.

Four years in the writing, Pat has created a work of considerable scholarship that will join Nigel Temple’s Farnham Buildings and People and Jonathan Wood’s Portrait of Farnham to become the definitive reference book on the development of the town.

Representatives from many of Farnham’s various societies were present alongside town mayor Pat Evans and deputy mayor of Waverley, Penny Marriott, and her consort.

After a welcome by F&DMS chairman Pam Taylor, the town mayor thanked Pat for this contribution to the history of the town, saying she would be “lodging copies in the town council’s library for councillors’ reference”.

In preparing the book for publication, the amount of material accumulated meant work had to be divided into four volumes – each of which is a stand-alone history of a particular part of the town and the area surrounding it, reflecting the original historic administration areas of the town: The Borough and Castle Street; East Street; West Street; and Church Lanes, Downing Street and the town south of the River Wey.

Based on primary sources such as the Bishop of Winchester’s Pipe Rolls, parish records, censuses, property deeds and local wills, Pat has been able to describe the development of each plot in the historic town, with secondary sources like newspaper reports and personal recollections adding local colour.

Each book has more than 200 pages and is illustrated with many maps and plans drawn by the author and includes a considerable number of black and white photographs.

Copies may be obtained direct from the Museum Society at www.farnhammuseumsociety.org.uk

Alternatively, telephone Peter Minett on 01252 721576 or email [email protected] to order a copy of the book.

Copies of the four titles are also set to be available at the Waterstones bookshop in the Lion and Lamb Yard.