Farnborough is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, about south of Wantage. The village is above sea level on a ridge aligned east – west in the Berkshire Downs. It is the highest village in Berkshire.
Geography
The Office for National Statistics no longer publishes Farnborough's population total separately. For the 2011 Census the ONS grouped Farnborough with its smaller neighbour Catmore. It recorded the combined population of the two parishes as 102. But Farnborough remains a separate civil parish, governed by its own parish meeting.
Farnborough parish comprises of chalk downland. Due to the porosity of the chalk and the village's hilltop position, the only supplies of groundwater are at great depth. The parish's lowest point is east of the village, above sea level. The B4494 road linking Wantage and Newbury passes about west of the village, forming part of the western boundary of the parish.
Toponym
Farnborough's toponym is derived from Old English and means "fern-clad hills". In this case "borough" is derived from beorg, meaning a mountain, hill or tumulus, and not from burh, a fortified settlement.
A 9th-century document records the manor as Feornberge. and include the Norman nave and north doorway. The chancel has a 13th-century piscina.
All Saints is a Grade I listed building. of grey brick with red-brick dressings. The building is Grade II listed.