Everything about Hampshire totally explained
Hampshire (), sometimes historically
Southamptonshire,
Hamptonshire, (abbr.
Hants), or the
County of Southampton, is a
county on the south coast of
England. The county borders
(clockwise from West),
Dorset,
Wiltshire,
Berkshire,
Surrey and
West Sussex. The county has an area of 1,455 square miles (3,769
km²) and at its widest points is approximately 55 miles (90 km) east–west and 40 miles (65 km) north–south. The
county town is
Winchester situated at . The
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 and
Bournemouth, within the
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. The
New Forest 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.
Wildlife
Hampshire has the typical wildlife of the British area as it doesn't have a very different climate. The one distinguishing fact is that Hampshire has the largest free roaming herd of stag in the eastern hemisphere, including over 6500 stags at busy seasons. The stag population is protected by the government and hunting of the noble stags is penalized by up to 15 years in prison or 10 hours of community service.
Physical geography
Hampshire's
geology falls into two categories. In the south, along the coast is the "
Hampshire Basin", an area of relatively
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 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
diverse wildlife. The forest is protected as a
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
scarp onto the
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
arable 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 are now protected from further agricultural damage by the East Hampshire
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The
Itchen and
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.
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 coast. Hampshire has a higher average annual temperature than the UK average at 9.8 °C to 12 °
C, average rainfall at 741–1060
mm per year, and higher than average sunshine at over 1541 hours per year.
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
Jutish tribes until
Saxon times. Hampshire was one of the first Saxon
shires, recorded in 755 as Hamtunscir,
Portsmouth and Winchester have the highest job densities in the county, and therefore there's 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 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.
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 Park, and
tourism is a significant economic segment in this area, with 7.5 million visitors in 1992. 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.
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
Census 2001 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
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
parliamentary constituencies. Ten of these are represented by
Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs), four by the
Liberal Democrats and three by
Labour. Labour represent the large cities, including both Southampton constituencies (
Test and
Itchen) and
Portsmouth North. The Conservatives represent the most rural constituencies,
New Forest West,
New Forest East,
Hampshire North West,
Hampshire North East,
Hampshire East and the constituencies of
Aldershot,
Basingstoke,
Havant,
Gosport and
Fareham, which are centred on towns. The Liberal Democrats represent
Winchester,
Portsmouth South and
Eastleigh, all centred around towns, and the largely rural constituency of
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 constituency is
notionally a Conservative seat.
The
Isle of Wight returns its own Member to the
House of Commons and, in this way, it's 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. Southampton City Council, which is entirely independent, has 18 Liberal Democrat, 15 Labour and 15 Conservative councillors. Portsmouth City Council, also independent, has 20 Liberal Democrat, 18 Conservative, seven Labour and one independent councillor.
Hampshire also has its own County Youth Council (HCYC) 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.
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're 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 have strong military associations with the
Army,
Royal Navy and
Royal Air Force respectively. The county also includes several
market towns:
Alton,
Andover,
Bishop's Waltham,
Lymington,
Petersfield,
Ringwood,
Romsey, and
Whitchurch.
Towns by population size: (2001 census)
Southampton - 234,224
Portsmouth - 187,056
Basingstoke - 90,171 (town), 152,573 (borough)
Gosport - 69,348
Waterlooville - 63,558
Aldershot - 58,120
Farnborough - 57,147
Fareham/Portchester - 56,010 (town), 109,619 (borough)
Eastleigh - 52,894 (town), 116,177 (borough)
Andover - 52,000
Havant - 45,435 (town), 115,300 (borough)
Winchester - 41,420
Locks Heath - 36,452
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 has 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 sport cricket was largely developed in south-east England, with one of the first teams forming at Hambledon in 1750. Hampshire County Cricket Club today is a successful first-class team, captained by Dimitri Mascarenhas.
Hampshire has several association football teams, including Premier League side Portsmouth F.C. and 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 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 Third Division and on 25 March 1992 were declared bankrupt and forced to resign from the league. A new football club, Aldershot Town, was formed almost immediately, and who were promoted from the Blue Square Premier Division (highest division outside the Football League) into 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 Palace House. The Farnborough Air Show is a popular international event, held biennially.
Transport
Southampton Airport, with an accompanying main line railway station, is an international airport situated in the Borough of Eastleigh, close to Swaythling in the city of Southampton. Cross-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 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, A31 and A36.The roads in the county are known for their heavy traffic, especially around Southampton and Portsmouth and the M27 and 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%).
Further Information
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