FARNBOROUGH PARISH
Farnborough has been an independent parish only since 1876. Before that Farnborough was part of the larger and more populous parish of Chelsfield, sometimes having its own Rector. but more usually just a Curate. For full details see Chelsfield with Farnborough. This explains why the church at Farnborough is comparatively small, even though the population of Farnborough has grown significantly since 1876, and is now much larger than that of Chelsfield.
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However the history of a church in Farnborough goes back much further. It is believed that a church has stood on the high piece of land to the south of the village for about 1500 years. The view from this point takes in the farm land and natural woodland right down the valley and to the top of the next hill.
George William Hingston became Rector of the new parish in 1876. Over the following years many changes were to take place. The Parish Vestry consisting of Rector, Churchwardens and Overseers, who had had to carry out all civil duties in the parish, such as raising local taxes, looking after the poor and repairing the roads, was replaced by Act of Parliament in 1894. This brought into being an elected, (Civil) Parish Council, whose area of administration was the same as the Ecclesiastical Parish. In the case of Farnborough, this Civil Parish was combined with other Civil Parishes to form Orpington Urban District, later to become part of the London Borough of Bromley.
The Parish Vestry continued for the Ecclesiastical Parish, but was in turn replaced by Act of Parliament by the Parochial Church Council from 1921.
In 1938, the part of the Parish to the south of Shire Lane was detached to form, along with part of the Parishes of Chelsfield and Knockholt, the new Parish of Green Street Green. This was probably the first change in the boundaries of the Parish since it came into being.
Parish Boundaries today, Click to enlarge
After the Second World War, the Parish of Farnborough began to grow in population. New housing developments were established and by the 1950s it was recognized that an additional place of worship was needed to serve the increasing number of parishioners resident in the part of the Parish separated since 1927 by Farnborough bypass.
On Sunday 22nd June, 1958 ‘The New Hall Church’, situated in Leamington Avenue, Orpington was opened and dedicated. Ten years later the Hall was re-named St. Nicholas’ Church Hall. It is now St. Nicholas Church - see St. Nicholas history .
The present Rector Matthew Hughes is the ninth since the beginning of the twentieth century. The previous eight are shown in these photographs, which are on display by the pulpit in the church..
| Rector 1904 - 1927 | Revd. Ebenezer Joseph Welch | ||
| Rector 1927 - 1940 | Revd. Robert Gladstone Griffiths | ||
| Rector 1940 - 1950 | Revd. Ernest Peter Field | ||
| Rector 1950 - 1964 | Revd. Albert Aidan Chapman | ||
| Rector 1964 - 1973 | Revd. David Basil Webb | ||
| Rector 1974 - 1987 | Revd. John Perry Druce | ||
| Rector 1988 - 1995 | Revd. Graham Shaw | ||
| Rector 1995 - 2000 | Revd. Mark Richard Turner |