Hampshire

Hampshire, administrative, geographic, and historic county of south-central England. It is bounded to the west by Dorset and Wiltshire, to the north by Berkshire, to the east by Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.

The administrative, geographic, and historic counties cover somewhat different areas. The administrative county comprises 11 districts: East Hampshire, Hart, New Forest, Test Valley, the boroughs of Basingstoke and Deane, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, and Rushmoor, and the city of Winchester (the county seat). The geographic county comprises the whole of the administrative county plus the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, each of which is a unitary authority. The historic county covers the entire geographic county, the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight, and the borough of Christchurch and parts of the district of East Dorset, which together form the eastern edge of the administrative county of Dorset.

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The county falls into four physical areas. A broad belt of rolling chalk downland, at times more than 800 feet (240 metres) high, runs across the middle from east to west. Tertiary clays, sands, and gravels, often covered by heath and woodland, lie to the north and south. In the east The Weald, with its typical scarps and vales, crosses the county border. The oldest rocks occur in this Wealden area—Lower and Upper Greensands and Gault clays. The Solent, a narrow strait dividing the Isle of Wight from the mainland, marks the lower course of the ancient Frome or River Solent. Submergence along the coast resulted in former tributaries becoming the independent streams, which now drain most of the chalk and southern Tertiary areas.

There is considerable evidence of prehistoric settlement in Hampshire, including extensive early Bronze Age settlement on the Isle of Wight. Remains of small Bronze Age farmsteads exist at Quarley, and most notable among Iron Age remains are hill forts such as those at Danebury and Hengistbury Head. Trade with the European continent during the late Bronze and early Iron Age apparently focused on Hengistbury Head and Christchurch. During the Roman occupation, urban settlements developed at Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) and Winchester (Venta Belgarum), the focal points of the Roman road system in the area. There was a smaller settlement at Southampton (Clausentum). Villa sites are numerous in the northwest. There were potteries in the New Forest and an imperial weaving works at Winchester, but the most substantial remains are in the town walls of Silchester and the outer wall at Portchester Castle. The museum at Reading, in Berkshire, houses artifacts from Silchester.

The county was invaded by Saxons and Jutes in the late 5th and early 6th centuries ce. It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 755, when Hampshire formed the core of the powerful kingdom of Wessex, whose capital was Winchester. While it had suffered severely from attacks by Norsemen, during the late Middle Ages the county enjoyed a comparatively peaceful existence. In 1377, however, a French raid devastated Newport on the Isle of Wight. The few castles that were built include those at Odiham, Portchester, and Winchester. Medieval industries commonly included the manufacture of woollens, and Southampton was important for the export and import of wool and wine. The whole of the county remained in the episcopal see of Winchester from 676 until 1927, when the sees of Guildford and Portsmouth were created. Monastic remains are found at Beaulieu and Netley, in the great church of Romsey, and in Winchester cathedral.

The county has always been agricultural, its main concerns now being dairying and the production of corn (maize). Market gardening is locally important, particularly between Southampton and Portsmouth. There is still a large acreage of woodland—for instance, in the New Forest, a former royal hunting ground. Portsmouth and Gosport form one of Britain’s principal naval centres, and Southampton is a major passenger port. Petroleum is refined at Fawley. Tourism provides much employment, and resorts include Southsea and Hayling Island. Most larger towns have light industries such as engineering and brewing. Area, administrative county, 1,420 square miles (3,679 square km); geographic county, 1,456 square miles (3,770 square km). Pop. (2001) administrative county, 1,240,103; geographic county, 1,644,249; (2011) administrative county, 1,317,788; geographic county, 1,759,726.