Farnham, United Kingdom

Occupation of the area continued to grow through the Bronze Age. Two bronze hoards have been discovered on Crooksbury Hill, and further artefacts have been found, particularly at sites in Green Lane and near the Bourne spring in Farnham Park. A significant number of Bronze Age barrows occur in the area, including a triple barrow at Elstead and an urnfield cemetery at Stoneyfield, near the Tilford road.

Hill forts from the early Iron Age have been identified locally at Botany Hill to the south of the town, and at Caesar's Camp to the north. The latter is a very large earthwork on a high promontory, served by a spring which emerges from between two conglomerate boulders called the Jock and Jenny Stones. "Soldier's Ring" earthworks on Crooksbury Hill date from the later Iron Age. The final era of the Iron Age, during the 1st century AD, found Farnham within the territory of the Belgic tribe Atrebates led by Commius, a former ally of Caesar, who had brought his tribe to Britain following a dispute with the Romans. A hut dating from this period was discovered at the Bourne Spring and other occupation material has been discovered at various sites, particularly Green Lane.

During the Roman period the district became a pottery centre due to the plentiful supply of gault clay, oak woodlands for fuel, and good communications via the Harrow Way and the nearby Roman road from Silchester to Chichester. Kilns dating from about AD 100 have been found throughout the area, including Six Bells (near the Bourne Spring), Snailslynch and Mavins Road, but the main centre of pottery had been Alice Holt Forest, on the edge of the town, since about AD 50, just 7 years after the arrival of the Romans. The Alice Holt potteries continued in use, making mainly domestic wares, until about AD 400. Near the Bourne Spring two Roman buildings were discovered; one was a bath-house dating from about AD 270 and the other a house of later date. The Roman Way housing estate stands on this site. William Stukeley propounded that Farnham is the site of the lost Roman settlement of Vindomis, although this is now believed to be at Neatham, near Alton. Large hoards of Roman coins have been discovered some 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Farnham in Woolmer Forest and a temple has been excavated at Wanborough, about 8 miles (13 km) to the east.

In the 7th century, Surrey passed into the hands of King Caedwalla of Wessex, who also conquered Kent and Sussex, and founded a monastery at Farnham in 686.

It was the Anglo-Saxons who gave the town its name—Farnham and it is listed as Fearnhamme in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. They arrived in the 6th century and, in AD 688, the West Saxon King Caedwalla donated the district around Farnham to the Church, and to the diocese of Winchester. A Saxon community grew up in the valley by the river. By the year 803 Farnham had passed into the ownership of the Bishop of Winchester and the Manor of Farnham remained so (apart from two short breaks) for the next thousand years. Although Farnham is documented in Saxon texts and most of the local names are derived from their language, there is only one fully attested Saxon site in Farnham, just off the lower part of Firgrove Hill, where a road called Saxon Croft is now sited. Here several Saxon weaving huts from about AD 550 were discovered in 1924.

In 892 Surrey was the scene of another major battle when a large Danish army, variously reported at 200, 250 and 350 ship-loads, moved west from its encampment in Kent and raided in Hampshire and Berkshire. Withdrawing with their loot, the Danes were intercepted and defeated at Farnham by an army led by Alfred the Great's son, the future Edward the Elder, and fled across the Thames towards Essex.

A hundred (county subdivision) was an area that had a general overlord of its lords of the manor, entitled to charge certain rents to certain intermediate lords. Parishes within Farnham hundred were: Frensham (including tything Pitfold with Churt) (partly in the hundred of Alton) Elstead, the liberty of Dockenfield, the liberty of Waverley, Seal (now Seale) the tythings of Badshot, Runfold, Culverlands, Tilford with Culverlands, Farnham, Runwick, Wrecklesham (now Wrecclesham), and Bourne.

In the 14th century, Farnham hundred was owned by the Bishop of Winchester and was one of the wealthiest on the bishop's rolls.

Farnham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 in the Hundred of Farnham as Ferneham, one of the five great "minster" churches in Surrey. Its Domesday assets were: 40 hides; 1 church, 6 mills worth £2 6s 0d, 43 ploughs, 35 acres (140,000 m2) of meadow, woodland worth 175½ hogs. It rendered £53.