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Farnham

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Farnham
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (1)
County
Surrey
Forward Destination on
A31, A331
Next Primary Destinations
Guildford • Winchester
Other Nearby Primary Destinations
Petersfield
Other Nearby Destinations
Aldershot • Alton • Hindhead
Places related to the A31
Places related to the A331

Farnham is a market town in south west Surrey, close to the boundary with Hampshire. The historic coaching route from London to Winchester went through the town. It is a primary destination lying on the A31 and served, peripherally, by the A331.

History

As a market town, Farnham has always been the hub for a network of local roads radiating to other towns and villages in the vicinity. However, its importance traditionally reaches much further: its castle, established in the 12th century, was home to the Bishops of Winchester for 800 years, making it a centre for religious and political power, and its position on the London to Winchester coaching route gave it plentiful passing trade.

Classification

The advent of road numbering in 1922 recognised the importance of the town both locally and regionally. The A31 followed the old coaching route and passed through the town centre on East Street and West Street, linking to its most important neighbours Guildford and Winchester; the A287 connected it south to Haslemere and thence the south coast, and north west to Odiham, giving access to the A30 and erstwhile A32. The A324 then ran north east to Woking; the A325 north to neighbouring Farnborough and Aldershot; and the A326 south to Sheet and thus the A3 to Portsmouth.

In the main the situation today is little changed: all those roads remain similarly classified and performing much the same function. One early change was the 1935 decision to absorb the former A326 into an extended A325, so the latter now runs both north and south of the town. The creation of the town's bypass in the mid-20th century, explored in more detail below, also brought changes.

Perhaps the most significant change, though, was the creation of the A331 Blackwater Valley Route in the 1990s, a new dual carriageway linking the M3 at Frimley to the A31 just east of Farnham. This expressway route effectively bypasses large parts of the A325 and A323, and re-cast traffic patterns across the whole area, meaning that journeys north and east from Farnham now typically take quite different routes even though most road classifications have remained the same.

Farnham Bypass

The half-built Farnham Bypass in 1945
The half-open Farnham Bypass in 1951
By 1965, only the northernmost section is missing and is no longer shown on the mapping

One-way systems

More to follow

Routes

Route To Notes

A31

Winchester, Alton

A31

London, Guildford, Godalming

A331

(M3), Camberley, Farnborough (A3011), Woking (A324), Aldershot (A323)

A287

Hindhead, Haslemere

A287

Odiham, Ewshot

A325

Petersfield, Wrecclesham

A325

Farnborough, Aldershot

B3001

B3007

B3208

B3228

B3384

Named junctions

There are five named junctions on the Farnham Bypass, these being:




Farnham
Junctions
Roads
NCN22 • A31 • A287 • A325 • A326 (Farnham - Sheet) • A331 • A3016 • B3001 • B3005 • B3007 • B3208 • B3228 • B3384 • Harroway • Pilgrims Way
Related Pictures
View gallery (1)
Farnham sign3.JPG
Places in South East England
Major DestinationsBrighton • Canterbury • Channel Tunnel • Chichester • Dover • Guildford
Primary DestinationsAshford • Bognor Regis • Crawley • Dartford Crossing • Dorking • East Grinstead • Eastbourne • Farnham • Folkestone • Gatwick Airport • Hastings • Horsham • Lewes • Maidstone • Margate • Newhaven • Ramsgate • Reigate • Sevenoaks • Sheerness • Staines • Thamesport • Tunbridge Wells • Uckfield • Worthing
Other PlacesBexhill • Billingshurst • Brenzett • Burgess Hill • Chatham • Dartford • Esher • Ewell • Faversham • Gillingham • Gravesend • Haywards Heath • Hindhead • Hove • Hythe • Leatherhead • Littlehampton • Midhurst • Redhill • Rochester • Rye • Sandwich • Shoreham-by-Sea • Sittingbourne • Swanley • Tenterden • Tonbridge • Weybridge • Woking


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