Farnham
Farnham | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
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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 | |||
Southampton • Poole • Wimborne Minster • Ringwood • Winchester • Guildford • Alton • Romsey • Bere Regis | |||
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
One-way systems
More to follow
Routes
Route | To | Notes |
Winchester, Alton | ||
London, Guildford, Godalming | ||
(M3), Camberley, Farnborough (A3011), Woking (A324), Aldershot (A323) | ||
Hindhead, Haslemere | ||
Odiham, Ewshot | ||
Petersfield, Wrecclesham | ||
Farnborough, Aldershot | ||
Named junctions
There are five named junctions on the Farnham Bypass, these being:
- Coxbridge Roundabout, at the western junction of A31, A325 and B3228
- Hickley's Corner, the signalised junction with the B3001 midway along the bypass
- Shepherd and Flock Roundabout, the eastern junction of A31, A325 and B3228
- Water Lane Roundabout, immediately north of the Shepherd and Flock
- Six Bells Roundabout, the junction of A325 and B3007
Farnham | ||||||||
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