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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 Portsmouth and Southampton 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

Lyndhurst High Street, February 2020

Lyndhurst /lɪndhərst/ is a large village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England, about nine miles (14 km) south-west of Southampton. Known as the "Capital of the New Forest", Lyndhurst houses the New Forest District Council and Court of Verderers. It is also a popular tourist attraction, with many independent shops, art galleries, cafés, museums, pubs and hotels. As of 2001 Lyndhurst had a population of 2,973, increasing to 3,029 at the 2011 Census.

The name derives from an Old English name, comprising the words lind (lime tree) and hyrst (wooded hill). The first mention of Lyndhurst was in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name 'Linhest'. The church of St. Michael and All Angels was built in the 1860s, and contains a fresco by Lord Leighton and stained-glass windows by Charles Kempe, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and others; Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is buried there. Glasshayes House (the former Lyndhurst Park Hotel) is the only surviving example of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's architectural experimentation, and local folklore records Lyndhurst as the site of a Dragon-slaying, and as being haunted by the ghost of Richard Fitzgeorge de Stacpoole, 1st Duc de Stacpoole. (Full article...)

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Selected biography

Hobbs in Nottingham Forest kit, 2016

Jack Hobbs (born 18 August 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He has played in the English Football League and Premier League for Lincoln City, Liverpool, Scunthorpe United, Leicester City, Hull City, Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers.

A graduate of Lincoln City academy, Hobbs made one appearance for the League Two club in 2005 before signing for Liverpool of the Premier League. His playing time there was limited, so to gain first-team experience Liverpool loaned him out to Scunthorpe United and Leicester City. He signed permanently with the latter in 2009 and went on to make more than 100 appearances in three seasons with the club. Hobbs joined Hull City two years later and was club captain for the 2011–12 season. He joined Nottingham Forest in 2013, initially on loan, before signing permanently the following year. He was released in 2018, with opportunities in the team limited by persistent injuries. He then joined Bolton Wanderers before being released in 2020. Hobbs made three appearances for the England national under-19 team in 2007.

Hobbs returned to Lincoln City in September 2021 in his first coaching role, to assist with the club's academy. (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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