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Portal:Hampshire

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The Hampshire Portal

View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill
View over Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill

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...)

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St Catherine's Hill and part of Winchester College, looking southeast from the tower of Winchester Cathedral. Chapel and its tower are in the centre, with the buildings of Chamber Court and Outer Court below them; the Warden's Lodging is partly masked by trees on the left, while the Headmaster's House is on the right. St Catherine's Hill, owned by the school, is in the background.

Winchester College is an English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 to 18. Its original medieval buildings from the 1382 foundation remain largely intact, but they have been supplemented by multiple episodes of construction. Additions were made in the medieval and early modern periods. There was a major expansion of boarding accommodation in the Victorian era; further teaching areas were constructed at the turn of the 20th century and more recently.

Among the styles in the architecture of the college are Perpendicular Gothic, Christopher Wren, Brunelleschi, Queen Anne revival, and High Victorian Baronial. Among the architects whose work is represented in the ensemble are William Wynford, William Butterfield, G. S. Repton, G. E. Street, William White, Basil Champneys, E. S. Prior, Herbert Baker, Henry L. G. Hill, and Peter Shepheard. The school has numerous listed buildings, historic structures protected by law, including the medieval buildings and the 1924 War Cloister. (Full article...)

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Arthur Leslie Norman English (9 May 1919 – 16 April 1995) was an English television, film and stage actor and comedian from the music hall tradition. (Full article...)

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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

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