Here you can find a wealth of historical information, documents and photographs all relating to Faringdon and its neighbourhood throughout the ages.
If you have any historical information, stories or photographs that you think might be of interest to add to our new website please do contact us.
Faringdon & District Archaeological & Historical Society (FDAHS) was formed in 1978 with about 12 members in response to the opportunity to look for archaeological features as the Faringdon by-pass was constructed. The membership of the Society has fluctuated over the years but now stands at 25. Rosemary Church has been the Chairman for the whole of the Society’s existence. Members have followed a wide range of interests and have staged several exhibitions of their work. We have participated in excavations on Roman and Medieval sites, local surveys have been carried out and records of the memorials made. Parish registers of the locality have been transcribed; deeds from various houses have been read and printed for the householder and for the Society’s records; school log books and local church’s minutes have been transcribed; members have participated in national surveys of old barns and wartime pill boxes; we have made collections of photographs from numerous sources, so as to preserve them for the future; four of the members published three books of photographs entitled ‘The Changing Faces of Faringdon’; we have a collection of old maps and many reference books of all kinds.
Society Meetings
The Society meets on the third Wednesday in the month in the Old Town Hall, Gloucester Street, Faringdon, Faringdon, SN7 7HL, visitors are very welcome. We sometimes have a visiting speaker to talk about their research into local issues. The meetings start at 7:45 pm, doors open at 7:30 pm, and cost £5.00 for non-members. Membership subscriptions of £25 are due at the October meeting. For further details please contact us here.
| Date for your Diary 2022/23 – Click here for details |
Society Activities
The range of activities of the society have included:
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See the drop-down menu above for details on some of these.
Research Archive
As we ran out of space in members’ homes for our collections, we have, since 2009, had a Local History Room in the library. Here most of our collections now reside for the benefit of people from Faringdon and district, and for others who come from all over the country and the world, to research their interests in the district. As items become available they are added to the collection. The Local History Room is open during library hours and is available for consultation after registering their interest with the librarians on the ground floor. The photographs are being scanned onto the computer for consultation in the History Room. We are currently looking into somewhere local to store the originals for their continuing safety. Also, selected photos and texts are being gathered together and with additional material into various themes to be presented on this website.
Research into the societies records can be undertaken, for a fee of £5 or more depending on the length of time it takes. Some of the research carried out by the society, together with reference books are available in the History Room, accessible when Faringdon Library is open. For further details go to our Society Resources page.
Aims of our Website
Our new website aims to bring to light a selection from the vast quantity of historical material collected over many years and stored in our archives. Much of it has been contributed by local people and inevitably some of the same content may also have been contributed and hence already appear on the various historical pages within the Faringdon Community Website (www.faringdon.org) as they have been in existence for much longer. Anyone interested in the history of Faringdon and surrounding villages should also visit that website.
Copyright
The watermarked photographs on this website are scanned from the original photographs given to the society, often including the negatives, and stored in the society’s archives. Amongst them are large collections donated by Brian Brady, Jim Brown, Colin Franklin, and Raymond Hutt. Others have been donated by current local photographers, such as William Law and Al Cane, or copied from those made freely available via local social media groups.
Some of the text has been copied and freely adapted following further research, from: The Changing Faces of Faringdon and Surrounding Villages – Book 1 (now out of print) and some extracts from Books 2 & 3. Written and compiled by members of the society: Rosemary Church, Jim Brown, Millie Bryan and Beryl Newman. Robert Boyd Publications. Articles and adverts have also been freely copied from old local newspapers from back as far as 1887, now out of print and copyright unknown.
You are welcome to download and look at all the information presented on this website but please do not copy, reproduce, republish, post, broadcast, transmit, adapt, alter, create a derivative work or otherwise use any content from this website in any way without first contacting the society.