Hampshire is a fine English county within the very heart of southern
England with the county town of Winchester. The terrain is undulating and is
crossed by two chalk downs rising in places to more than 244 m. The principal
rivers are the Test, the Itchen and the Avon. Hampshire is an agricultural
county devoted to corn production and dairy farming. Gosport, Southampton, and
Portsmouth are three leading ports. There is oil refinery at Fawley and aircraft
engineering at Farnborough.
Running down from Berkshire to the south coast Hampshire got its name from
Saxon times, when it was known as Hamtunscire after Hamtun, now Southampton,
which was the leading town until Winchester became the county town. Hampshire is
primarily an agricultural county with areas of considerable beauty including the
unique New Forest. Hampshire offers a rich portfolio of unspoilt countryside,
stunning coastlines, historic cities, bustling market towns and some of
England’s most picturesque villages.
There are also the historical links with the Royal Navy at Portsmouth and
Gosport. Southampton is still a busy port which, in its heyday between the wars,
was the base for the transatlantic liners of the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen
Mary, whilst just across Southampton Water are where the flying boats of
Imperial Airways, the precursor of British Airways, departed to fly the imperial
routes to Africa and the Far East.
Evidence of prehistoric and Roman settlements were found in the county.
Hampshire was once part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex and has numerous
historical and literary associations. Winchester has seen much of the county’s
history from Viking raids to William the Conqueror rebuilding the Saxon palace
and a castle. The city saw action in two civil wars – in the 12th century and
also when Cromwell’s army besieged the Royalists in the castle, destroying it
all apart from the Great Hall. Other historic places, include Stonehenge,
Salisbury Cathedral, Oxford and Windsor are also within easy reach.
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