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Abbaye Saint-Michel - Chapelle impériale
Photo: ThunderingTyphoons!, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Built by Empress Eugénie de Montijo in the 1880s, the abbey's main attraction is its typically French Flamboyant Neo-Gothic chapel, beneath which lie Napoleon III, his wife and their son, Louis Napoléon Eugène. The abbey is home to a small community of Benedictine (Roman Catholic) monks, and also houses a relic of St Alban. The guided tour involves a visit to the chapel, grounds and imperial crypt. The mass and vespers, sung in Latin Gregorian chant, are an unusual experience. The tiny shop stocks handmade religious memorabilia, local history books printed by the abbey press, and produce from the monks' farm.
Saint Michael's Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire, England, which belongs to the English Province of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation. The small community is known for its liturgy, its pipe organ, and its liturgical publishing and printing. This abbey is also known for enshrining a pontifically crowned image of Saint Joseph.
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Annual series of six summer concerts, first Sunday of the month between May and October, and a special Advent concert. The Cavaillé-Coll organ is played by either resident organist Neil Wright or a guest recitalist.
This Anglican church's crypt is believed to house the remains of many of the Earls of Anglesey, and it is a pretty Norman church in its own right, probably with Saxon origins. On one of the walls inside is the damaged remains of a medieval fresco depicting Saints Agnes, Eugenia, and Mary Magdalene, which was uncovered by accident in 1880 at roughly the same time the Empress moved into Farnborough; coincidence or Divine providence?
A giant indoor play zone for kids featuring an 8,500 sq ft soft play frame, dodgems, a carousel, a full-sized 'high street' for shop-based role play, a 'messy play' area for arts and crafts, and a café. Your kids will probably love you for it; your wallet may not.
The last vestige of Windsor Forest in Farnborough was once part of Farnborough Hill Estate; Empress Eugénie used to call it Compiègne Wood after the royal estate in France. There are plenty of beautiful mature trees and rhododendron shrubs which flower in spring. Lots of wildlife including foxes, buzzards, red kites, woodpeckers and common garden birds. Small pond, play area, and children's climbing wall near the Cabrol Road end.
8-screen multiplex cinema showing all the latest new releases.
A replica of the first ever aircraft built by the RAE's factory at Farnborough. This model represents that which was flown by World War I ace pilot Edward "Mick" Hancock, who was awarded the Victoria Cross medal posthumously. You can read about his life on a small poster in the centre.