It was historically an important manufacturer of bricks, used to build the Royal Albert Hall, and grower of strawberries and other seasonal fruits.

The town has a documented history dating back to the Norman era, when a part of William's army marched up from Fareham Creek before continuing to the Saxon capital of England, Winchester.

[3] The ford of Fareham Creek (at the top of Portsmouth Harbour) was the location of the Bishop of Winchester's mills; the foundations were subsumed in the A27 near the railway viaduct.

In the late 1990s a settlement called Whiteley, straddling the boundaries of Fareham Borough and the City of Winchester, was developed to the north of Junction 9 of the M27 motorway.

An urban renewal initiative began in 1999, renovating the town centre and historic buildings to include a new entertainment and shopping complex.

The puddled wrought iron sculptures are themed on Fareham's market town history and the exhibition is the largest of its type in Britain.

The A32 passes through Fareham at the Quay Street roundabout, a notorious bottleneck, on its way from Gosport to Wickham and through the Meon Valley to Alton.

[10] Fareham railway station is on the West Coastway Line, with regular services to Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton, Cardiff and London.

All BBC and ITV Services are available in Fareham, with transmissions from the Rowridge Transmitter on the Isle of Wight, although signals from the Hannington and Midhurst transmitting stations can be picked up from certain areas of the town.

Some local services are provided by the larger Hampshire County Council, with Fareham residents also able to participate in this Hampshire-wide (except Portsmouth and Southampton) election.