[2] Aldershot is known as the Home of the British Army, a connection which led to its rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town.

[7] Cistercian monks from the nearby Waverley Abbey established granges or farms on their outlying estates, including one at Aldershot by 1175 for sheep grazing.

[8][9] John Norden's map of Hampshire, published in the 1607 edition of William Camden's Britannia, indicates that Aldershot was a market town.

The area was a vast stretch of common land, a lonely wasteland unsuitable for most forms of agriculture with scant population.

As it existed at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, the extensive settlement of Crondall in the north-east corner of Hampshire was certainly Scandinavian, for among the customs of that great manor, which included Crondall, Yateley, Farnborough, and Aldershot, that of sole inheritance by the eldest daughter in default of sons prevailed, as over a large part of Cumberland, and this is a peculiarly Norse custom.

[14] The 18th-century jurist Charles Viner lived in the town and printed his A General Abridgment of Law and Equity on a press in his home.

In the 18th century, the stretch of the London to Winchester turnpike that passed through Aldershot between Bagshot and Farnham (now known as the Farnborough Road) was the scene of highway robberies.

In August 1856, on her return from the Crimean War and "wishing to be with her sons in the Army", Mary Seacole with her business partner Thomas Day is said to have arrived in Aldershot where they attempted to open a canteen.

In her autobiography, Seacole wrote: 'We set to bravely at Aldershott to retrieve our fallen fortunes, and stem off the ruin originated in the Crimea, but all in vain...'.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Aldershot Command Searchlight Tattoo held at the Rushmoor Arena presented displays from all branches of the services, including performances lit by flame torches.

At the start of World War I, the units based at Aldershot became the 1st Corps of the British Expeditionary Force, and soon tens of thousands of new recruits came to the large training centre in the Camp.

Additional units of the Canadian Army followed later creating the largest force of British Commonwealth troops ever to be stationed in the UK at one time.

[31] In a gesture of forgiveness and goodwill, the Freedom of the Borough of Aldershot was conferred on the Canadian Army on 26 September 1945 in a ceremony held at the town's recreation ground.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert showed a keen interest in the establishment and development of Aldershot as a garrison town in the 1850s, at the time of the Crimean War.

Many famous people have been associated with the Military Town, including Charlie Chaplin, who made his first stage appearance in The Canteen theatre aged 5 in 1894,[41][42] and Winston Churchill, who was based there in the late 19th century during his time in the Army.

The RAMC Memorial to the 314 men of the Royal Army Medical Corps who lost their lives in the Boer War of 1899-1902 is located at the top of Gun Hill.

At this time, the area was heathland with the only building in sight being the Union Poor House, built in 1629 as a sub-manor for the Tichborne family and later used as the local workhouse and a school.

It was one of five permanent local buildings purchased by the War Department in 1854 as part of the development of the new Aldershot Camp, and was used by the Army from 1854 to 1879 as No 2 Station Hospital.

[citation needed] Weekly events included Fusion (Hectic Records), Tazmania, Slammin' Vinyl and Future World.

The location of Aldershot between Southampton and London meant the club became a mecca for Hardcore, and it was regularly sold out during this time.

The Galleries has remained almost vacant for many years now and is currently under consideration for proposed redevelopment into a mixed use retail and residential scheme, with potential commercial leisure space.

The club has produced many Olympians including Roger Hackney, Zola Budd, Lily Partridge and Steph Twell and specialises in middle–long distance running.

[74] Opened in 1930, Aldershot Lido is a traditional outdoor leisure pool that contains 1.5 million gallons of water situated on a 10-acre (4.0 ha) site.

[73] With an ever-expanding juniors section, Aldershot & Fleet were successful in winning the coveted RFU "Seal of Approval" Club of the Year 2008 for the southern region.

Aldershot Stadium was located in Oxenden Road, Tongham, and staged Stock Car racing for the first time on 30 October 1954.

Together with other short-circuit formulae (including Superstox, Hot Rods, Bangers and Midgets), racing was held regularly (every Thursday evening, every Boxing Day afternoon and later on Saturdays).

The site was the headquarters for the promoter, Spedeworth International ltd. Major national events at the track were few and far between – the most notable title race contested there being the 1975 British Superstox Championship (27 Sep 1975, won by Steve Monk).

[89] In 1894, a five-year old Charlie Chaplin made his first appearance on stage at the Canteen when his mother, a music-hall singer, lost her voice in the middle of a song and was booed offstage.

[95] Due to its architecture, Bruneval Barracks in Montgomery Lines was chosen as the location for snowy scenes in Kazan, Russia, at the end of the 2009 James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

[98] The HBO series House of the Dragon filmed a number of scenes for the third episode on the Ceaser's Camp military training ground on the border of Farnham and Aldershot.