ABOUT
VICTORIA GARDEN
& FARNHAM SWIMMING BATHS TRUST

The site was originally commissioned by a Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Committee in 1897 to celebrate her Majesty Queen Victoria's reign and to mark this royal occasion.

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The Committee opted for an outdoor swimming bath to be built, to create a space for the people of Farnham to swim. 

Supported by the local community who donated funds and local architect, Harold Falkner, who designed a commemorative arch.

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The Bishop of Winchester, Bishop Randall Davidson, invited the Duchess of Albany, Queen Victoria’s daughter-in-law, to lunch with him at his home at Farnham Castle.  The Bishop asked if the Duchess would open Farnham’s first swimming bath, when she agreed. Mr Borelli, a local jeweller cast a special gilt key for the Duchess of Albany to use at the opening ceremony for Farnham’s first swimming bath.

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Farnham’s swimming bath was so popular that in time a new larger pool was built next to the original pool, which then became a shallower pool, where children learnt to swim - known as 'the little pool'.  But the fact that the swimming baths were outdoors meant the months that residents of the town could swim in Farnham were limited, so in 1982, a new leisure centre with an indoor pool was built by the council and the old outdoor swimming baths were closed. 

The site remained derelict until the 1990s, when the reconstituted Farnham Swimming Baths Trust reclaimed the it from the grips of Waverley Borough Council who wanted to build flats on the site.

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The Trust debated as how to make best use of the Swimming Bath’s site, when inspired by the Physic Garden in Petersfield, they decided to turn the 'little pool' into a town centre garden. 

Marion Woodward of the Surrey Gardens Trust created the design for the Victoria Garden, while a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and contributions from local organisations and individuals provided the necessary funding. 

The Victoria Garden was opened in 1998, by the Duchess of Gloucester.