Please wait while we load your article...

Home > Hampshire

Learn more about "Hampshire"

Hampshire

}. The United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1.24 million; the ceremonial county also includes the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which are administratively independent, and has a total population of 1.6 million. Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch and Bournemouth, within the historic counties of England|historic borders of the county, were made part of the non-metropolitan county of Dorset in 1974. Hampshire is a popular holiday area, with tourist attractions including its many seaside resorts, the maritime area in Portsmouth, and the motor museum at Beaulieu, Hampshire|Beaulieu. The New Forest National Parks in England and Wales|National Park lies within the borders, as does a large area of the South Downs, which is also scheduled to become a National Park. Hampshire has a long maritime history and two of England's largest ports lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of writers Jane Austen and Charles Dickens and the birthplace of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Wildlife

Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain. One distinguishing feature is that Hampshire has a large free roaming herd of Red Deer, including more than 6500 stags during busy seasons. The stag population is protected by the government and hunting is prohibited.

Physical geography

Hampshire's geology falls into two categories. In the south, along the coast is the "Hampshire Basin", an area of relatively resistance (geology)|non-resistant Eocene and Oligocene clays and gravels which are protected from sea erosion by the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, and the Isle of Wight. These low, flat lands support heathland and woodland habitat (ecology)|habitats, a large area of which form part of the New Forest. The New Forest has a mosaic of heathland, grassland, coniferous and deciduous woodland habitats that host biodiversity|diverse wildlife. The forest is protected as a National parks of England and Wales|national park, limiting development and agricultural use to protect the landscape and wildlife. Large areas of the New Forest are open common lands kept as a grassland plagioclimax by grazing animals, including domesticated cattle, pigs and horses, and several wild deer species. Erosion of the weak rock and sea level change flooding the low land has carved several large estuaries and rias, notably the 12 mile (19 km) long Southampton Water and the large convoluted Portsmouth Harbour. The Isle of Wight lies off the coast of Hampshire where the non-resistant rock has been eroded away forming the Solent. In the north and centre of the county the substrate is the Southern England Chalk Formation of Salisbury Plain and the South Downs. These are high hills with steep slopes where they border the clays to the south. The hills dip steeply forming a Escarpment|scarp onto the River Thames|Thames valley to the north, and dip gently to the south. The highest point in the county is Pilot Hill, which reaches the height of 286 m (938 ft). The downland supports a calcareous grassland habitat, important for wild flowers and insects. In the past Hampshire had little agriculture, but in the early 20th century the demand for food led to the establishment of farms on the downs. A large area of the downs is now protected from further agricultural damage by the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The River Itchen, Hampshire|Itchen and River Test|Test are trout rivers that flow from the chalk through wooded valleys into Southampton Water. Nestled in a valley on the downs is Selborne, and the countryside surrounding the village was the location of Gilbert White's pioneering observations on natural history. Hampshire's county flower is the Dog Rose.BBC News, May 5 2004. ''UK counties choose floral emblems''. Hampshire has a milder climate than most areas of the British Isles , being in the far south with the climate stabilising effect of the sea, but protected against the more extreme weather of the Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic coast. Hampshire has a higher average annual temperature than the UK average at 9.8 °C to 12 °Celsius|C,Met Office, 2000. Annual average temperature for the United Kingdom. average rainfall at 741–1060 millimetre|mm per year,Met Office, 2000. Annual average rainfall for the United Kingdom. and higher than average sunshine at over 1541 hours per year.Met Office, 2000. Annual average sunshine for the United Kingdom.

History

The chalk downland of the South Downs and southern edges of Salisbury Plain were settled in the neolithic, and these settlers built hill forts such as Winklebury and may have farmed the valleys of Hampshire. Hampshire was part of an area named ''Gwent'' or ''Y Went'' by the Celts, which also covered areas of Somerset and Wiltshire. In the Roman invasion of Britain, Hampshire was one of the first areas to fall to the invading forces. The county was occupied by Jutes|Jutish tribes until Saxon people|Saxon times. Hampshire was one of the first Saxon shires, recorded in 755 as Hamtunscir, but for two centuries represented the western end of Saxon England, as advances into Dorset and Somerset were fought off by the Britons. After the Saxons advanced west Hampshire became the centre of the Kingdom of Wessex, and many Saxon kings are buried at Winchester. A statue in Winchester celebrates the powerful King Alfred, who stabilised the region in the 9th century. After the Norman Conquest the county was favoured by Normans|Norman kings who established the New Forest as a hunting forest. The county was recorded in the Domesday Book divided into 44 hundred (division)|hundreds. From the 12th century the ports grew in importance, fuelled by trade with the continent, wool and cloth manufacture in the county, and the fishing industry, and a shipbuilding industry was established. Over several centuries a series of castles and forts were constructed along the coast of the Solent to defend the harbours at Southampton and Portsmouth. These include the Roman Portchester Castle which overlooks Portsmouth Harbour, and a series of forts built by Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII including Hurst Castle, situated on a sand spit (landform)|spit at the mouth of the Solent, Calshot Castle on another spit at the mouth of Southampton Water, and Netley Castle. Southampton and Portsmouth remained important harbours when rivals, such as Poole and Bristol declined, as they are amongst the few locations that combine shelter with deep water. Southampton has been host to many famous ships, including the ''Mayflower'' and the ''RMS Titanic|Titanic'', the latter being staffed largely by natives of Southampton. Hampshire played a large role in World War II due to its large Royal Navy harbour at Portsmouth, the army camp at Aldershot and the military Netley Hospital on Southampton Water, as well as its proximity to the army training ranges on Salisbury Plain and the Isle of Purbeck. Supermarine, the designers of the Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire and other military aircraft, were based in Southampton, which led to severe bombing of the city. Aldershot remains one of the British Army's main permanent camps. Farnborough is a major base of the Royal Air Force. The county has in the past been called "Southamptonshire" and appears as such on some Victorian era|Victorian maps. The name of the administrative county was changed from 'County of Southampton' to 'County of Hampshire' on 1 April 1959. The short form of the name, often used in postal addresses, is ''Hants'', which sometimes gives rise to puzzlement. This abbreviated form is derived from the Old English Hantum plus Scir (meaning a district governed from the settlement now known as Southampton) and the Anglo-Saxons called it Hamtunschire. At the time of the Domesday Book (1086) this was compressed to Hantescire. The Isle of Wight has traditionally been treated as part of Hampshire for some purposes, but has been administratively independent for over a century, obtaining a county council of its own in 1890. The Isle of Wight became a full ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county in 1974. Apart from a shared police force and health authority there are now no formal administrative links between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire, though many organisations still combine Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch also fall within the traditional county of Hampshire, but were ceded to Dorset in the local government reorganisation of 1974.

United States

Hampshire was the departure point of some of those later to settler in the east coast of what is now the United States, in the 17th Century, giving its name in particular to New Hampshire.

Governance

With the exceptions of the unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton, Hampshire is governed by a county council based in Winchester, with several non-metropolitan districts beneath it, and for the majority of the county, parish councils or town councils at the local level. The districts of Hampshire are:
- Basingstoke and Deane
- City of Winchester
- East Hampshire
- Eastleigh (borough)|Eastleigh
- Fareham (borough)|Fareham
- Gosport
- Hart, Hampshire|Hart
- Havant (borough)|Havant
- New Forest (district)|New Forest
- Portsmouth (Unitary)
- Rushmoor
- Southampton (Unitary)
- Test Valley The county also contains a national park, covering the New Forest, and therefore governance of this area is carried out by the National Park Authority as well as the New Forest District Council.

Economy

Hampshire is a relatively affluent county, with a Gross domestic product (GDP) of Pound Sterling|£32.3 billion in 2005 (£22.4 billion when excluding Southampton and Portsmouth).Hampshire County Council, 2008. ''Summary figure - State of the economy.'' Portsmouth and Winchester have the highest job densities in the county, and therefore there is a high level of commuting into the cities. Southampton has the highest number of total jobs and commuting both into and out of the city is high. The county has a lower level of unemployment rate|unemployment than the national average, at 1.9% when the national rate was 3.3%, and as of March 2005 has fallen to 1.1%. 39% are employed by large firms, compared with a national average of 42%. Hampshire has a considerably higher than national average employment in high-tech industries, but average levels in knowledge based industry. 25.21% of the population work in the public sector.Hampshire County Council, 2004. ''Profile of Hampshire.'' Many rural areas of Hampshire have traditionally been reliant on agriculture, though the county was less agricultural than most surrounding counties, and was mostly concentrated on dairy farming. The significance of agriculture as an employer and wealth creator has declined since the first half of the 20th century and agriculture currently employs 1.32% of the population. The New Forest area is a National Parks of England and Wales|National Park, and tourism is a significant economic segment in this area, with 7.5 million visitors in 1992.New Forest District Council, n.d. "Tourism questions and answers." The South Downs and the cities of Southampton and Winchester also attract tourists to the county. Southampton Boat Show is one of the biggest annual events held in the county, and attracts visitors from throughout the country. In 2003 the county had a total of 31 million day visits, and 4.2 million longer stays.Hampshire County Council, United Kingdom Tourism Survey & GB Leisure Day Visits Survey, 2004. "Tourism Facts and Figures." The cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are both significant ports, with Southampton handling a large proportion of the national container freight and Portsmouth housing a large Royal Navy base. The docks have traditionally been large employers in these cities, though again mechanisation has forced diversification of the economy.

Demographics

At the United Kingdom Census 2001|Census 2001Office for National Statistics & Hampshire County Council, 2003. Census 2001 data the ceremonial county recorded a population of 1,644,249, of which 1,240,103 were in the administrative county, 217,445 were in the unitary authority of Southampton, and 186,701 were in Portsmouth. The population of the administrative county grew 5.6% from the 1991 census, Southampton grew 6.2% while Portsmouth remained unchanged, compared with 2.6% for England and Wales as a whole. Eastleigh and Winchester grew fastest at 9% each. The age structure of the population is similar to the national average. 96.73% of residents were indigenous, falling to 92.37% in Southampton. The significant ethnic minorities are Asian at 1.34% and mixed race at 0.84%. 0.75% of residents were migrants from outside the UK. 73.86% stated their religion as Christianity and 16.86% were not religious. Significant minority religions were Islam (0.76%) and Hinduism (0.33%).

Education

The school system in Hampshire (including Southampton and Portsmouth) is comprehensive. Geographically inside the Hampshire Local Education Authority|LEA are twenty four independent schools, Southampton has three and Portsmouth has four. Few Hampshire schools have sixth forms, which varies by district council.

Politics

Hampshire is divided into eighteen List of Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire|parliamentary constituencies. Ten of these are represented by Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament (MPs), four by the Liberal Democrats and three by Labour Party (UK)|Labour. Labour represent the large cities, including both Southampton constituencies (Southampton Test (UK Parliament constituency)|Test and Southampton Itchen|Itchen) and Portsmouth North (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth North. The Conservatives represent the most rural constituencies, New Forest West (UK Parliament constituency)|New Forest West, New Forest East (UK Parliament constituency)|New Forest East, Hampshire North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Hampshire North West, Hampshire North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Hampshire North East, Hampshire East (UK Parliament constituency)|Hampshire East and the constituencies of Aldershot (UK Parliament constituency)|Aldershot, Basingstoke (UK Parliament constituency)|Basingstoke, Havant (UK Parliament constituency)|Havant, Gosport (UK Parliament constituency)|Gosport and Fareham (UK Parliament constituency)|Fareham, which are centred on towns. The Liberal Democrats represent Winchester (UK Parliament constituency)|Winchester, Portsmouth South (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth South and Eastleigh (UK Parliament constituency)|Eastleigh, all centred around towns, and the largely rural constituency of Romsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Romsey. There is a new parliamentary constituency to be contested at the next general election as part of the new boundary changes. The Meon Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Meon Valley constituency is ''notionally'' a Conservative seat. The Isle of Wight returns its own Member to the British House of Commons|House of Commons and, in this way, it is often said that Hampshire returns nineteen Members of Parliament despite Hampshire and the Isle of Wight having been separated administratively and ceremonially for some time. At the 2005 local elections for Hampshire County Council the Conservative Party had a 43.69% share of the votes, the Liberal Democrats had 36.01% and Labour 16.08%. Therefore 46 Conservatives, 28 Liberal Democrats and four Labour councillors sit on the County Council.Hampshire County Council, 2005. Local election results. Southampton City Council, which is entirely independent, has 18 Liberal Democrat, 15 Labour and 15 Conservative councillors.Southampton City Council, 2005. Local election results. Portsmouth City Council, also independent, has 20 Liberal Democrat, 18 Conservative, seven Labour and one independent councillor.Portsmouth City Council, 2005. List of councillors. Hampshire also has its own County Youth Council (HCYC)Hampshire County Youth Council and is an independent youth-run organisation. It meets once a month around Hampshire and aims to give the young people of Hampshire a voice. It also has numerous district and borough youth councils including Basingstoke's "Basingstoke & Deane Youth Council".Basingstoke & Deane Youth Council

Cities, towns, and villages

Hampshire's county town is Winchester, a historic city that was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Wessex and of England until the Norman conquest of England. The port cities of Southampton and Portsmouth were split off as independent unitary authorities in 1997, although they are still included in Hampshire for ceremonial purposes. Fareham, Gosport and Havant have grown into a conurbation that stretches along the coast between the two main cities. The three cities are all university cities, Southampton being home to the University of Southampton and Southampton Solent University (formerly Southampton Institute), Portsmouth to the University of Portsmouth, and Winchester to the University of Winchester (formerly known as University College Winchester; King Alfred's College). Hampshire lies outside the green belt area of restricted development around London, but has good railway and motorway links to the capital, and in common with the rest of the south-east has seen the growth of dormitory towns since the 1960s. Basingstoke, in the north of the county, has grown from a country town into a business and finance centre. Aldershot, Portsmouth, and Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough have strong military associations with the British Army|Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force respectively. The county also includes several market towns: Alton, Hampshire|Alton, Andover, Hampshire|Andover, Bishop's Waltham, Lymington, New Milton, Petersfield, Hampshire|Petersfield, Ringwood, Romsey, and Whitchurch, Hampshire|Whitchurch.
Towns by population size: (2001 census)
- Southampton - 234,224
- Portsmouth - 187,056
- Basingstoke - 90,171 (town), 152,573 (borough)
- Gosport - 69,348, 77,000 (borough)
- Waterlooville - 63,558
- Aldershot - 58,120
- Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough - 57,147
- Fareham/Portchester - 56,010 (town), 109,619 (borough)
- Eastleigh - 52,894 (town), 116,177 (borough)
- Andover, Hampshire|Andover - 52,000
- Havant - 45,435 (town), 115,300 (borough)
- Winchester - 41,420
-
- Fleet, Hampshire|Fleet - 32,726 For the complete list of settlements see List of places in Hampshire.

Culture, arts and sport

Due to Hampshire's long association with pigs and boars, natives of the county have been known as ''Hampshire hogs'' since the 18th century.Hampshire County Council, 2003. "Press Release: Hampshire's Hog has a home." Hampshire has literature|literary connections, being the birthplace of authors including Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and the residence of others, such as Charles Kingsley. Austen lived most of her life in Hampshire, where her father was rector of Steventon, Hampshire, and wrote all of her novels in the county. Hampshire also has many visual art connections, claiming the painter John Everett Millais as a native, and the cities and countryside have been the subject of paintings by L. S. Lowry and J. M. W. Turner. Hampshire is also the birthplace of explorer Lawrence Oates, and entertainers Peter Sellers, Benny Hill, Carl Barat and Craig David. Hampshire's relatively safe waters have allowed the county to develop as one of the busiest sailing areas in the country, with many yacht clubs and several manufacturers on the Solent. The game of cricket was largely developed in south-east England, with one of the first teams forming at Hambledon, Hampshire|Hambledon in 1750. Hampshire County Cricket Club today is a successful first-class cricket|first-class team, captained by Dimitri Mascarenhas. Hampshire has several association football teams, including Premier League side Portsmouth F.C. and Football League Championship|Championship side Southampton F.C., which have traditionally been fierce rivals. Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 1939 and 2008 and Football League title on several occasions during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, but have spent much of the last 50 years outside the top division and at one stage spent two seasons in the Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division (the lowest division in senior football). Southampton, meanwhile, have only won one major trophy to date (the FA Cup in 1976), even though they spent 27 unbroken years in the top division (1978-2005). Aldershot F.C. became members of the Football League in 1932 but never progressed beyond the Football League Third Division|Third Division and on 25 March 1992 were declared Bankruptcy|bankrupt and forced to resign from the league. A new football club, Aldershot Town F.C.|Aldershot Town, was formed almost immediately, and who were promoted from the Conference National|Blue Square Premier Division (highest division outside the Football League) into League Two|Football League Two of the Football League in April 2008. Thruxton Circuit is Hampshire's premier motor racing course with the National Motor Museum being located in the New Forest adjacent to Beaulieu, Hampshire|Beaulieu Palace House. The Farnborough Airshow is a popular international event, held biennially.

Transport

Southampton Airport, with an accompanying main line Southampton Airport (Parkway) railway station|railway station, is an international airport situated in the Eastleigh (borough)|Borough of Eastleigh, close to Swaythling in the city of Southampton. Cross-English Channel|channel and cross-Solent ferries link the county to the Isle of Wight and European continent. The South Western Main Line railway from London to Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth runs through Winchester and Southampton, and the Wessex Main Line from Bristol to Portsmouth also runs through the county. The M3 motorway connects the county to London. The construction of the Twyford Down cutting near Winchester caused major controversy by cutting through a series of ancient trackways (the Dongas) and other features of archaeological significance. The M27 motorway serves a bypass for the major conurbations and as a link to other settlements on the south coast. Other important roads include the A3 road (Great Britain)|A3, A31 road|A31 and A36 road|A36.The roads in the county are known for their heavy traffic, especially around Southampton and Portsmouth and the M27 motorway|M27 and A27 road|A27. The county has a high level of car ownership, with only 15.7% having no access to a private car compared with 26.8% for England and Wales. The county has a lower than average use of trains (3.2% compared with 4.1% for commuting) and buses (3.2% to 7.4%) but a higher than average use of bicycles (3.5% to 2.7%) and cars (63.5% to 55.3%).Hampshire County Council, 2005. Facts and Figures website.

Notes

References

- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911. "Hampshire".
- Draper, Jo. 1990. ''Hampshire''. Wimborne: Dovecote Press. ISBN 0-946159-82-3
- ''Pigot & Co's Atlas of the Counties of England'', 1840. London: J Pigot & Co.