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Hampshire is a county inSouthern England with some notable archaeology and many notable historic buildings.
The chalk downland of theSouth Downs and southern edges ofSalisbury Plain were settled in theNeolithic, and these settlers builthill forts such asWinklebury and may have farmed the valleys of Hampshire. Hampshire was part of anAncient British kingdom the Celts calledGwent (not be confused with thecounty in Wales) orY Went, describing the county'sopen downs, which also covered areas that would later belong toSomerset andWiltshire.[1] In theRoman invasion of Britain, Hampshire was one of the first areas to fall to the invading forces.
During the period ofAnglo-Saxon settlement, modern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were occupied byJutish tribes – a people separate initially from theSaxons andAngles. Jutes founded kingdoms known asWihtwara (Wight),Meonwara (Meon Valley) andYtene (in an area similar to the later site of the New Forest). According to St Bede, however, the Jutes were conquered by the surrounding Saxon kingdoms during the 7th century.Hamtunscīr (afterHamtun, the original name of Southampton) was one of the first Saxonshires to be recorded, in 755.
For two centuries Hampshire represented the western frontier of Saxon England, as the Britons fought off advances intoDorset and Somerset. After the Saxons advanced west Hampshire became the centre of theKingdom of Wessex, and many Saxon kings are buried atWinchester.A statue in Winchester celebrates the powerfulKing Alfred, who stabilised the region in the 9th century.
After theNorman Conquest the county was favoured byNorman kings who established theNew Forest as a hunting forest.The county was recorded in theDomesday Book divided into44 hundreds.[2] These later consolidated to 37. These wereAlton,Andover,Barmanstip,Barton Stacey,Basingstoke,Bedbridge,Bondsborough,Bosmere,Buddlesgate,Christchurch,Chutely,Crondall,East Meon,Evinger,Fawley,Finchdean,Fordingbridge,Hambledon,Heling,Holdsett,King's Somborne,Kingsclere,Mansbridge,Meanstoke,Micheldever,New Forest,Odiham,Overton,Pastrow,Portsdown,Ringwood,Shelbourn,Sutton,Thorngate,Titchfield,Waltham andWherwell.
Over several centuries a series ofcastles andforts were constructed along the coast of theSolent to defend the harbours atSouthampton andPortsmouth. These include the NormanPortchester Castle which overlooksPortsmouth Harbour, and a series of forts built byHenry VIII includingHurst Castle, situated on a sandspit at the mouth of the Solent,Calshot Castle on another spit at the mouth ofSouthampton Water, andNetley Castle. Southampton and Portsmouth remained important harbours when rivals, such asPoole andBristol declined, as they are amongst the few locations that combine shelter with deep water. Southampton has been host to many famous ships, including theMayflower and theTitanic, the latter being crewed largely by Hampshire natives.
Hampshire played a large role inWorld War II due to its largeRoyal Navy harbour at Portsmouth, the army camp atAldershot and the militaryNetley Hospital on Southampton Water, as well as its proximity to the army training ranges onSalisbury Plain and theIsle of Purbeck.Supermarine, the designers of theSpitfire and other military aircraft, were based in Southampton, which led to severe bombing of the city. Aldershot remains one of theBritish Army's main permanent camps.
The county has in the past been called "Southamptonshire" and appears as such on someVictorian maps. The name of theadministrative 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, isHants.
The old name appears as the place of embarkation of many of the immigrants intoEllis Island. It is recorded in theCommonwealth Instrument of Government, 1653, which was adopted byOliver Cromwell when he assumed the office ofLord Protector in 1654.
TheIsle of Wight has been for some purposes in the past treated traditionally part of Hampshire, but has been administered separately from Hampshire for over a century, obtaining acounty council of its own in 1890. The Isle of Wight became a fullceremonial county in 1974. Theisland is excluded from the hundreds given above – it was traditionally divided intoEast Medina andWest Medina hundreds. Apart from a shared police force there are now no formal administrative links between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire.
The towns ofBournemouth andChristchurch also fall within thehistoric county of Hampshire.
