History of Fareham
Saxon origins, market town, brickworks, and Victorian growth
Fareham's history stretches back well over a thousand years, from its Saxon origins through its centuries as a market town to its expansion as a Victorian and twentieth-century commuter settlement. The town's position at the head of a tidal creek on Portsmouth Harbour has shaped its story from the beginning.
The name Fareham derives from the Old English, likely meaning a homestead among the ferns. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, recorded as Fernham, with a modest population and agricultural land. The Saxon church at Titchfield, with fabric surviving from the early medieval period, provides evidence of the area's importance before the Norman Conquest.
The medieval period saw Fareham develop as a market town, with a market charter granted in 1228 by Henry III. The weekly market, still held on Mondays, has been a feature of the town for nearly eight hundred years. The town served the surrounding agricultural hinterland, providing a trading point for the farms and villages of the area.
Titchfield Abbey, founded in 1232 as a Premonstratensian house, was one of the significant religious establishments of medieval Hampshire. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site was converted into a grand house, Place House, by Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton. The ruins are now managed by English Heritage.
Portchester Castle, at the eastern end of the borough, has a history that predates Fareham itself. The Roman fort, built in the late third century as part of the Saxon Shore defences, is one of the best-preserved Roman fortifications in northern Europe. The Norman keep was added within the Roman walls, and the castle served as a royal residence, a garrison, and a prisoner-of-war camp at various points in its long history.
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought change. Fareham became known for its brickmaking, with the distinctive red Fareham bricks used in buildings across Hampshire and beyond. The brick earth dug from the local clay provided the raw material, and the brickworks were a significant employer. The arrival of the railway in 1841 connected Fareham to Portsmouth and Southampton, transforming it from a relatively isolated market town into a place accessible for commerce and, eventually, commuting.
The Victorian period saw the town grow as the railway brought new residents and new opportunities. The High Street developed its commercial character, and the streets of terraced houses around the town centre date from this era. The military presence at Portsmouth drove some of the growth, with officers and naval personnel choosing to live in the quieter setting of Fareham while working at the dockyard.
The twentieth century brought the most dramatic transformation. The post-war housebuilding boom filled the farmland between Fareham and its neighbouring villages with suburban estates. What had been a compact town with outlying settlements became a continuous built-up area. The M27 motorway, opened in the 1970s and 1980s, cemented Fareham's role as a commuter base and brought the retail parks and business parks that now sit alongside the older town.
The history of Fareham is not dramatic or nationally famous, but it is long and layered. The Roman walls at Portchester, the medieval abbey at Titchfield, the Georgian houses on the High Street, and the Victorian terraces all tell parts of the story. Understanding this history enriches the experience of living in or visiting the town.