Our society resources are being made available 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.
Selected photos and texts from the society archives are being gathered together here along with some additional new material, into various themes for presentation on this website.
Much of the research carried out by the society, together with reference books are available in the History Room, accessible when Faringdon Library is open – click on the link to check open days and times. The room can be made available for consultation after registering your interest with the librarians on the ground floor.
Further research into the societies records can be undertaken, either by you or by us for a fee of £5 or more depending on the length of time it takes. Please contact us with details of your research. Once the degree of work involved in your requirements has been assessed, you will be asked to purchase one or more research tickets below. Please note that at present we are unable to undertake or help with any personal research.
If you are interested in finding out about the history of your own home then this page provides some useful guidelines: 6 Steps to Finding Out Your Home’s History Online
History Society Index
A comprehensive index of our records is available in the library and here for download and or printing.
History Society Index (Oct 2011).pdf
The History Society Index includes the following:
- Archaeological records
- Microfiche reader
- Deeds
- Parish registers
- Family History Aids
- Personal memories
- Local Newspapers
- Maps and Plans
- Photographs
- Field walking records and finds
- Geological specimens
- Reference Books
- Graveyard memorials
- School records
- Local buildings
- Society records
- Local history- Faringdon, Villages
- WW1/WW2 information
Graveyard Memorials
All the information on and around gravestones in All Saints Churchyard and the Free Church Cemetery (Canada Lane) has been collected by FDAHS members. This was then recorded on searchable Excel spreadsheets, which are obtainable from the following links to the Faringdon Community Website:
www.faringdon.org/all-saints-churchyard.html
www.faringdon.org/faringdon-free-church-cemetery.html
Photographic Collections
Collections of local photographs and other paper items from the 19th & 20th Centuries have been donated by many individuals. Each photograph is labelled with information including named individuals and date where known. They are stored in the ring-folder albums listed below. These albums are not currently stored in the library but are awaiting a suitable place and some method for protection and hopefully accessible storage:
Archive Photos A-C: 
Index A-C
Archive Photos D-H: Index D-H
Archive Photos I-L: Index I-L
Archive Photos M-O: Index M-O
Archive Photos P-R: Index P-R
Archive Photos S-T: Index S-T
Archive Photos V-Y: Index-V-Y
Brian Brady Collection 1987-96, two folders: Index BB1 / Index BB2
Colin Franklin Collection 1994-96: Index CF
Faringdon Folly Newspaper Photographs 1989-98: Index-FF
Fire Service History 1904-2014 – A collection by Bill Law.
Raymond Hutt Collection (copy) 1953 – A photographic tour around Faringdon and beyond: View here
A History of Faringdon Women’s Institute 1925-2002.
A History of Faringdon Women’s Institute 2002-2015.
Two photograph albums about Faringdon Guides and Brownies.
Pack Holiday albums of the 1st Faringdon Brownies.
Other Downloadable Documents (pdf)
An excellent document compiled by this society in 2005, revised by the Tourist Information Centre, and well worth reading is Faringdon History Walk.
A list of shops and businesses in alphabetical order by name, late 1800s & early 1900s: Faringdon Shops etc
A list of shop adverts from Newspapers 1972/3: Shop Adverts From Papers 1972/3
A list of shop adverts from Faringdon Dramatic Society programmes 1949-89: Shop Adverts From FDS
A history of Faringdon and a list of local traders: Directory & Gazetteer of Oxon, Berks & Bucks (Dutton, Allen & Co.) 1863 – Faringdon section
A list of soldiers, sailors & airmen from Faringdon and surrounding villages 1914-18 including national reserve, railway guards and men applying for exemption: Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen 1914-18
The Faringdon Workhouse by Andrew Edgington: Faringdon Workhouse (Faringdon and the Vale Venture 1973)
Notes from a talk on the Faringdon Workhouse by Rosemary Church: Workhouse Talk
Notes from a talk on The Elms by Rosemary Church: Elms Talk
The Grand Old Man of the Sawmill 1897-1961 (Faringdon Advertiser 1961)
Memories of Faringdon (Faringdon & The Vale Venture 1972)
Memories of the Faringdon Railway (Faringdon & The Vale Venture 1972)
The British Legion – Faringdon (Faringdon & The Vale Venture 1972)
Buildings in Faringdon – Gerald Taylor 2001
History Society Index – FDAHS 2011
Sudbury House, Faringdon – Peter Gale
The Grand Old Man of the Sawmill 1897-1961 (Faringdon Advertiser 1961)
Corners of Faringdon 1 – Church Farm House School – Felicity Cormack 2021
Notable People of Buscot Park – The Second Lord Faringdon – Felicity Cormack 2021
Notable People of Buscot Park – Arturo Barea – Felicity Cormack 2021
Faringdon Parish Church Restoration (FA 9th July 1927)
Faringdon Church Bells (FA 2nd Jan 1909)
Faringdon Coronation Programme 1953
Wyke Grange Dig (FF Sep 1992)
Bill and Nancy Reeves (FF Mar 1992)
The Great Flood (FF June 1993)
Faringdon Rocks by Norman Snelling
The Changing Faces of Faringdon and Surrounding Villages
Four members of Faringdon Historical Society have published 3 volumes of a book called The Changing Faces of Faringdon and surrounding villages. Authors: Rosemary Church, Jim Brown, Millie Bryan and Beryl Newman. Robert Boyd Publications. Book 1 is now out of print but most of it now appears on this website. Books 2 and 3 are available from the Tourist Information Centre, The Pump House, 5 Market Pl, Faringdon SN7 7HL but it is advisable to ring first to make sure they have a copy, telephone 01367 240281. They are also available online from Amazon and other dealers.
The books are mainly of photographs but with a fair amount of related text. There are many photos of people, many of which are named. The date of these photos are from the 1890’s to the 1990’s.
Book 1 (1999 – now out of print but much of it is on this website) covers many topics of interest around Faringdon and the villages Great & Little Coxwell, Buscot, Coleshill, Fernham, Shellingford, Uffington, Eaton Hastings – the number of photos for each varies between three or four to more than a dozen.
Contents:
Introduction
Map of the area
Section 1 Faringdon Streets
Section 2 Business
Section 3 Faringdon Church, House and Folly
Section 4 Events
Section 5 The Market
Section 6 Personalities
Section 7 Public Houses
Section 8 Schools
Section 9 Societies and Sports
Section 10 Transport
Section 11 Views
Section 12 Buscot
Section 13 Coleshill
Section 14 Great Coxwell
Section 15 Little Coxwell
Section 16 Eaton Hastings
Section 17 Fernham
Section 18 Shellingford
Section 19 Uffington
Book 2 (2001) – includes different villages from the first book – Longcot, Shrivenham, Bourton, Watchfield, Pusey, Stanford in the Vale, Littleworth, Buckland, Charney Bassett, Goosey.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Plan of Faringdon Streets and Buildings c.1870/ 1880’s
Map of the area
Section 1 A Bird’s Eye View
Section 2 The Best Days of our Lives
Section 3 Supplying the Goods
Section 4 Fighting Times
Section 5 Enforcing the Law
Section 6 Shrivenham
Section 7 Watchfield
Section 8 Bourton
Section 9 Stanford in the Vale
Section 10 Littleworth
Section 11 Charney Bassett
Section 12 Longcot
Section 13 Pusey
Section 14 Goosey
Available from Amazon and other online sources.
Book 3 (2003) – includes odd corners of Faringdon, street names, goings on, reflections of, worshipping, getting around and working in Faringdon. The villages Barcote and Thrup. Pucketty Farm and more on Buckland and Charney Bassett.
Contents:
Map of the area
Plan of Faringdon Streets c.1880/1890’s
Acknowledgements
Introduction – Faringdon Street Names
Section 1 Odd Corners
Section 2 Worshipping in Faringdon
Section 3 Goings On
Section 4 Getting Around
Section 5 All in a Day’s Work
Section 6 Best Days of Our Lives
Section 7 Recollections of Faringdon
Section 8 Buckland and Barcote
Section 9 Pucketty
Section 10 Thrupp
Section 11 Charney Bassett
Available from Amazon and other online sources.
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.