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 city of Southampton is the largest settlement.
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
Southampton Football Club (/saʊ
Founded in 1885, the club joined the Southern League as Southampton St. Mary's in 1894, dropping the St. Mary's from their name three years later. Southampton won the Southern League on six occasions and were beaten FA Cup finalists in 1900 and 1902, before being invited to become founder members of the Football League Third Division in 1920. They won promotion as Third Division South champions in 1921–22, remaining in the Second Division for 31 years until they were relegated in 1953. Crowned Third Division champions under the stewardship of Ted Bates in 1959–60, they were promoted into the First Division at the end of the 1965–66 campaign. They played top-flight football for eight seasons, but won the FA Cup as a Second Division team in 1976 with a 1–0 victory over Manchester United. Manager Lawrie McMenemy then took the club back into the top-flight with promotion in 1977–78.
Southampton were beaten finalists in the League Cup in 1979 and finished as runners-up in the First Division in 1983–84, three points behind Liverpool. The club were founder members of the Premier League in 1992 and reached another FA Cup final in 2003. Relegation ended their 27-year stay in the top-flight in 2005, and they were relegated down to the third tier in 2009. Southampton won the Football League Trophy in 2010 and won successive promotion from League One and the Championship in 2010–11 and 2011–12. After an 11-year stint in the top flight, during which they were EFL Cup runners-up in 2017, they were relegated in 2023. The club won the 2024 Championship play-off final and returned to the Premier League at the first attempt. (Full article...)
Selected images
Selected biography
Swithun (or Swithin; Old English: Swīþhūn; Latin: Swithunus; died 863) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. According to tradition, if it rains on Saint Swithun's bridge (Winchester) on his feast day (15 July) it will continue for forty days. (Full article...)
Did you know
- ... 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 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?
- ... 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 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 the Theatre Royal, Southampton, which Jane Austen visited in 1807, was described in 2013 as having "morphed into a hideous high-rise"?
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