Hampshire

Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, (abbr. Hants), or the County of Southampton, is a on the south coast of. The county borders (clockwise from West),, , , and. The county has an area of 1,455 s (3,769 ) and at its widest points is approximately 55 miles (90 km) east-west and 40 miles (65 km) north-south. The is  situated at 51.05972°N, -1.31°W. The gave the population of the administrative county as 1.24 million; the ceremonial county also includes the cities of  and, which are administratively independent, and has a total population of 1.6 million. and, within the of the county, were made part of the non-metropolitan county of  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. The  lies within the borders, as does a large area of the, 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 the writers and.

Physical geography
Hampshire's falls into two categories. In the south, along the coast is the "", an area of relatively  and  s and s which are protected from sea  by the, Dorset, and the. These low, flat lands support and , a large area of which form part of the. The New Forest has a mosaic of heathland, grassland, coniferous and deciduous woodland habitats that host. The forest is protected as a, 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 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 and s, notably the 12 mile (19 km) long  and the large convoluted. The Isle of Wight lies off the coast of Hampshire where the non-resistant rock has been eroded away forming the.

In the north and centre of the county the substrate is the of  and the. These are high hills with steep slopes where they border the clays to the south. The hills dip steeply forming a onto the  to the north, and dip gently to the south. The highest point in the county is, which reaches the height of 286 m (938 ft). The supports a  habitat, important for wild s and. In the past Hampshire had little 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. The and  are  rivers that flow from the chalk through wooded valleys into Southampton Water. Nestled in a valley on the downs is, and the countryside surrounding the village was the location of 's pioneering observations on. Hampshire's is the.

Hampshire has a milder than most areas of the, being in the far south with the climate stabilising effect of the sea, but protected against the more extreme weather of the  coast. Hampshire has a higher average annual temperature than the UK average at 9.8 °C to 12 °, average rainfall at 741–1060 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, and these settlers built such as  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, Hampshire was one of the first areas to fall to the invading forces. The county was occupied by tribes until  times. Hampshire was one of the first Saxon s, recorded in, but for two centuries represented the western end of Saxon England, as advances into and  were fought off by the Britons. After the Saxons advanced west Hampshire became the centre of the, and many Saxon kings are buried at. A statue in Winchester celebrates the powerful, who stabilised the region in the.

After the the county was favoured by  kings who established the  as a hunting forest. The county was recorded in the divided into 44 s.  From the 12th century the ports grew in importance, fuelled by trade with the continent, wool and cloth manufacture in the county, and the fishing industry, and a shipbuilding industry was established.

Over several centuries a series of s and s were constructed along the coast of the to defend the harbours at Southampton and Portsmouth. These include the Roman which overlooks, and a series of forts built by  including , situated on a sand  at the mouth of the Solent,  on another spit at the mouth of Southampton Water, and. Southampton and Portsmouth remained important harbours when rivals, such as and  declined, as they are amongst the few locations that combine shelter with deep water. Southampton has been host to many famous ships, including the ' and the ', the latter being staffed largely by natives of Southampton.

Hampshire played a large role in due to its large  harbour at Portsmouth, the army camp at  and the military  on Southampton Water, as well as its proximity to the army training ranges on  and the. , the designers of the and other military aircraft, were based in Southampton, which led to severe bombing of the city. Aldershot remains one of the 's main permanent camps.

The county has in the past been called "Southamptonshire" and appears as such on some maps. The name of the was changed from 'County of Southampton' to 'County of Hampshire' on. The short form of the name, often used in postal addresses, is Hants, which sometimes gives rise to puzzlement. This abbreviated form is derived from the Hantum plus Scir (meaning a district governed from the settlement now known as Southampton) and the  called it Hamtunschire. At the time of the (1086) this was compressed to Hantescire.

The has traditionally been treated as part of Hampshire for some purposes, but has been administratively independent for over a century, obtaining a  of its own in 1890. The Isle of Wight became a full in 1974. Apart from a shared police force and health authority there are now no formal administrative links between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire, though many organisations still combine Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The towns of and  also fall within the traditional county of Hampshire, but were ceded to  in the local government reorganisation of 1974.

Economy


Hampshire is a relatively affluent county, with a (GDP) of 22.9 billion (£16.3 billion when excluding Southampton and Portsmouth). This makes it the sixth largest economy in England, and is equal in size to the economy of, making up 2% each of the economy of the UK as a whole.

Portsmouth and Winchester have the highest job densities in the county, and therefore there is 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 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 to 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.

Many rural areas of Hampshire have traditionally been reliant on, though the county was less agricultural than most surrounding counties, and was mostly concentrated on. 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 county has a long association with, and the domesticated  breed of , from which is produced.

The area is a, and  is a significant economic segment in this area, with 7.5 million visitors in 1992. The and the cities of Southampton and Winchester also attract tourists to the county. 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 base. The docks have traditionally been large employers in these cities, though again mechanisation has forced diversification of the economy.

Demographics
At the 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  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 and 16.86% were not religious. Significant minority religions were (0.76%) and  (0.33%).

Education
The school system in Hampshire (including Southampton and Portsmouth) is comprehensive. Geographically inside the Hampshire are twenty four independent schools, Southampton has three and Portsmouth has four. Few Hampshire schools have sixth forms, which varies by district council. The average proportion of school pupils gaining five good GCSEs including English and Maths is 45.8%; for Hampshire's 14,200 state school pupils taking GCSEs at 16 it is 50.2% - one of the highest in England. By not including Southampton and Portsmouth, will offset this significantly. The best state schools at GCSE in 2006 were and  in Waterlooville, followed by the  in,  in Fleet,  in  and  in Winchester. The worst was the Oak Farm Community School in north Farnborough, although a school in Portsmouth got lower results. At A level, performance is less good, but there are some excellent results for state schools at and  in Winchester. Farnborough produces some of the worst results in the county at GCSE, but the best at A level. The best overall school at A level is in Winchester, followed by Winchester College. As a comparison, for Southampton and Portsmouth state schools, there is only a that performs well at GCSE, which is in central Southampton. For A level, where the few sixth forms that do exist, none get very high results in these two cities.

GCSE results by district council (%)
% of pupils with 5 grades A-C including English and Maths in 2006; compare this table to average house price by district.
 * Winchester 66.4
 * Eastleigh 58.4
 * Hart 57.9
 * East Hampshire 55.0
 * Fareham 54.2
 * New Forest 53.8
 * Test Valley 45.4
 * Basingstoke 45.2
 * Havant 43.4
 * Rushmoor 38.3
 * Gosport 36.7
 * (Southampton Unitary Authority 36.2)
 * (Portsmouth Unitary Authority 29.2)

Politics
Hampshire is divided into eighteen. Ten of these are represented by  (MPs), four by the  and three by. Labour represent the large cities, including both Southampton constituencies ( and ) and. The Conservatives represent the most rural constituencies,, , , , and the constituencies of , , ,  and , which are centred on towns. The Liberal Democrats represent, and , all centred around towns, and the largely rural constituency of. There is a new parliamentary constituency to be contested at the next general election as part of the new boundary changes. The constituency is notionally a Conservative seat.

The returns its own Member to the  and, in this way, it is 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 is, a historic city that was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of  and of England. The port cities of and  were split off as independent  in 1997, although they are still included in Hampshire for ceremonial purposes. , and  have grown into a  that stretches along the coast between the two main cities. The three cities are all cities, Southampton being home to the  and  (formerly Southampton Institute), Portsmouth to the, and Winchester to the  (formerly known as University College Winchester; King Alfred's College).

Hampshire lies outside the area of restricted development around, but has good  and  links to the capital, and in common with the rest of the south-east has seen the growth of s since the 1960s. , in the north of the county, has grown from a country town into a business and finance centre. ,, and have strong military associations with the ,  and  respectively. The county also includes several s:, , , , , , , and.

Towns by population size: (2001 census)
 * - 234,224
 * - 187,056
 * - 90,171 (town), 152,573 (borough)
 * - 69,348
 * - 63,558
 * - 58,120
 * - 57,147
 * / - 56,010 (town), 109,619 (borough)
 * - 52,894 (town), 116,177 (borough)
 * - 45,435 (town), 115,300 (borough)
 * - 41,420
 * - 37,955
 * - 36,452
 * - 32,726

For the complete list of settlements see .

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 connections, being the birthplace of authors including  and, and the residence of others, such as. Austen lived most of her life in Hampshire, where her father was rector of, and wrote all of her novels in the county. Hampshire also has many connections, claiming the painter  as a native, and the cities and countryside have been the subject of paintings by  and. Hampshire is also the birthplace of explorer, and entertainers , , and.

Hampshire's relatively safe waters have allowed the county to develop as one of the busiest areas in the country, with many  clubs and several manufacturers on the Solent. The sport was largely developed in south-east England, with one of the first teams forming at  in 1750. today is a successful team, captained by. Hampshire has several teams, including  side  and  side, which have traditionally been fierce rivals. also played in the Football League until the club's closure in 1992. is Hampshire's premier motor racing course with the being located in the  adjacent to. The is a popular international event, held biennially.

Transport
, with an accompanying main line, is an international situated in the , close to  in the city of. Cross- and cross- ferries link the county to the Isle of Wight and European continent. The railway from  to  runs through Winchester and Southampton, and the  from  to Portsmouth also runs through the county.

The connects the county to London. The construction of the cutting near Winchester caused major controversy by cutting through a series of ancient trackways (the Dongas) and other features of archaeological significance. The serves a bypass for the major conurbations and as a link to other settlements on the south coast. Other important roads include the, and .The roads in the county are known for their heavy traffic,especially around Southampton and  and the  and.

The county has a high level of car ownership, with only 15.7% having no access to a private car compared to 26.8% for England and Wales. The county has a lower than average use of trains (3.2% compared to 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%).