Portal:Hampshire
The Hampshire Portal
Hampshire (/ˈhæmpʃər/, /-ʃɪər/ ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. The cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are the largest settlements, and the county town is the city of Winchester.
The county has an area of 3,769 km2 (1,455 sq mi) and a population of 1,844,245, making it the 5th-most populous in England. The South Hampshire built-up area in the south-east of the county has a population of 855,569 and contains the cities of Southampton (269,781) and Portsmouth (208,100). In the north-east, the Farnborough/Aldershot conurbation extends into Berkshire and Surrey and has a population of 252,937. The next-largest settlements are Basingstoke (113,776), Andover (50,887), and Winchester (45,184). The centre and south-west of the county are rural. For local government purposes Hampshire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with eleven districts, and two unitary authority areas: Portsmouth and Southampton. The county historically contained the towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which are now part of Dorset, and the Isle of Wight.
Undulating hills characterise much of the county. A belt of chalk crosses the county from north-west, where it forms the Hampshire Downs, to south-east, where it is part of the South Downs. The county's major rivers rise in these hills; the Loddon and Wey drain north, into the Thames, and the Itchen and Test flow south into Southampton Water, a large estuary. In the south-east are Portsmouth Harbour, Langstone Harbour, and the western edge of Chichester Harbour, three large rias. The south-west contains the New Forest, which includes pasture, heath, and forest and is of the largest expanses of ancient woodland remaining in England.
Settled about 14,000 years ago, Hampshire's recorded history dates to Roman Britain, when its chief town was Venta Belgarum (now Winchester). The county was recorded in Domesday Book as divided into 44 hundreds. From the 12th century, the ports settlements grew due to increasing trade with the European mainland resulting from the wool and cloth, fishing, and shipbuilding industries. This meant by the 16th century, Southampton had become more populous than Winchester. In 20th century conflicts, including World War One and Two, Hampshire played a crucial military role due to its ports. (Full article...)
Selected article
Winchester College is an English public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 as a feeder school for New College, Oxford, and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the nine schools considered by the Clarendon Commission. The school has begun a transition to become co-educational, and has accepted male and female day pupils from September 2022, having previously been a boys' boarding school for over 600 years.
The school was founded to provide an education for 70 scholars. Gradually numbers rose, a choir of 16 "quiristers" being added alongside paying pupils known as "commoners". Numbers expanded greatly in the 1860s with the addition of ten boarding houses. The scholars continue to live in the school's medieval buildings, which consist of two courtyards, a chapel, and a cloisters. A Wren-style classroom building named "School" was added in the 17th century. An art school ("museum"), science school, and music school were added at the turn of the 20th century. A war cloister was built as a memorial in 1924.
The school has maintained traditions including its mascot, the Trusty Servant; a set of "notions" forming a sort of private language; and a school song, Domum. Its headmasters have included the bishops William Waynflete in the 15th century and George Ridding in the 19th century. Former pupils are known as Old Wykehamists. (Full article...)
Selected images
Selected biography
Wilbert Vere Awdry OBE (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several other characters who appeared in his Railway Series. (Full article...)
Did you know
- ... that Winchester United Church, a place of worship in the City of Winchester District, Hampshire, was built into the walls of the former county jail?
- ... that Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester, began the construction of the modern Winchester Cathedral in 1079?
- ... that the Theatre Royal, Southampton, which Jane Austen visited in 1807, was described in 2013 as having "morphed into a hideous high-rise"?
- ... that Commander Samuel Sparshott, who testified at Lord Gambier's court-martial, and Admiral Edward Sparshott, who commanded the 52-gun HMS Winchester, were brothers who served in the Napoleonic Wars?
- ... that Winchester College football used to be played on top of a hill, with a line of boys on each side to keep the ball from rolling away?
- ... that James Tissot is thought to have transgressed many Victorian sexual boundaries in his work, even setting a painting aboard the HMS Calcutta as a pun on a female subject's behind?
Related portals
Subcategories
Topics
More articles: Business in Hampshire | Geology of Hampshire | History of Hampshire | Portsmouth | Recreational walks in Hampshire | Southampton | Winchester
Lists: List of churches in Hampshire | List of further education colleges in Hampshire | List of Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire | List of places in Hampshire
Recognised content
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Hampshire}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options. |
Featured articles
- Ælfheah of Canterbury
- Bramshill House
- Southampton Cenotaph
- Chandler's Ford shooting
- Droxford railway station
- Ecgberht, King of Wessex
- Frank Jenner
- John Leak
- Mary Rose
- Netley Abbey
- New Forest pony
- Portsmouth War Memorial
- Robert Roberts (writer)
- Tichborne case
- HMS Warrior (1860)
- The World Before the Flood
- Murder of Joanna Yeates
Featured lists
Good articles
- A303 road
- All Saints' Church, Southampton
- Battle of Alton
- Andover F.C.
- Architecture of Winchester College
- Jane Austen
- Bentworth
- Henry Biard
- Binsted
- Bournemouth
- Bradley, Hampshire
- Calshot Castle
- Christchurch, Dorset
- Danebury
- Murder of Teresa De Simone
- Tom Denning, Baron Denning
- East Worldham
- 1900 FA Cup final
- 1902 FA Cup final
- 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash
- Murder of Céline Figard
- Charles Fryatt
- Germanus of Winchester
- Jack Hobbs (footballer)
- Hurst Castle
- Itchen Navigation
- Medieval Merchant's House
- Medstead
- Netley Castle
- Notions (Winchester College)
- Oakhanger, Hampshire
- Plegmund
- Portsmouth
- Queen Mary 2
- River Rother, West Sussex
- SeaCity Museum
- Shalden
- South Stoneham House
- Southampton Castle
- Southampton town walls
- St Andrew's Castle, Hamble
- St Catherine's Hill, Hampshire
- Steep, Hampshire
- Twyford Down
- Peter Vincenti
- West Worldham
- Winchester College
- Winchester College football
- Winslade
WikiProjects
Things you can do
Nominate for selection:
Expand: Abbots Worthy | Cadnam | Chartwell Green | List of churches in Hampshire | Deane, Hampshire | East Hampshire | Farnborough Airfield | Geography of Gosport | Micheldever | Monks Brook | More...
Create: Baddesley Manor | Chilworth Manor (currently a redirect) | Gosport and Fareham Omnibus Company
Find references for: Accord of Winchester | Aldershot | Alton, Hampshire | Alverstoke | Andover, Hampshire | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington | Bedales School | Bitterne Park School | Boyatt Wood | Brenda Rawnsley | Brian Murphy (actor) | Brockenhurst | C. B. Fry | Calleva Atrebatum | Cantell Secondary School
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus