CAMDEN'S BRITANNIA ABRIDGED

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To Thomas Jervoise, Esqr; and Richard Chaundler, Esqr; This Shire, for which they are chosen Knights, is Humbly Dedicated.

Hampshire.

NExt to Wiltshire is that Country, which, by the Saxons, was call'd Hamptunscyre, now commonly Hampshire; the Inland part of which, without doubt, belong'd to the Belgae; the Maritime part to the Regni, and ancient People of Britain. 'Tis bounded on the West by Dorsetshire and Wiltshire, on the South by the Ocean, on the East by Sussex and Surry, on the North by Barkshire. 'Tis very Fruitful in Corn, in several places well Wooded, and very rich in Pasturage, and stor'd with all Sea Commodities, being very commodiously situated for Traffick by its many Creeks and Havens. It is thought to have been the first that was reduc'd to the Power of the Romans, and to have been Conquer'd by Vespasian.

In the Description of this County, I shall first begin with the West-side, and having survey'd the Sea-coasts, and the Rivers that run into the Ocean, shall pass on to the more Inland parts.

Near the Western bounds of this County runs the Avon with a gentle stream, which, at its first entrance into this County, meets with the Ford of Cerdick, formerly call'd Cerdick's Ford, from Cerdick a Valiant Saxon, now contracted to Chardford; hence the River runs along by Regnewood or Ringwood, which was Regnum, a Town of the Regni, mention'd by Antonine, as we may well suppose, from the course of the Itinerary, the remainder of the old Name, and the sense of the present; for Ringwood, in the Saxon Dialect, seems to signifie the Wood of the Regni: This Place was formerly of great Note, but now only famous for a good Mar- / ket.

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ket. The Avon passing from thence receives the River Stour, where, at the meeting of the two Rivers, stands a Populous little Market-Town, now call'd Christ-Church, from the Church so Dedicated; but formerly from its situation between two Rivers, Twinamburn, for the same reason as the Interamna in Italy. It was formerly strengthen'd with a Castle, and adorn'd with an ancient Church of Prebendaries, which flourish'd till the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. Below this Town the Stour and the Avon joining in one Channel, empty themselves by one mouth into the Sea, which Ptolemy call'd The Mouth of the River Alaun. On the East-side of this River, William the Conqueror destroy'd all the Towns, Villages, and Churches, and turning out the poor Inhabitants, made a Forest for Wild Beasts, of more than thirty Miles in Circuit, which the English at that time call'd Ytene, We, New-Forest; wherein are nine Walks, and to every one a Keeper. It has two Rangers, a Bowbearer, and a Lord Warden, which Office formerly belong'd to the Earls of Arundel, but is at present in the hands of His Grace the Duke of Bolton. On the North-side of this Forest is the Oak that Buds on Christmas-Day, and Withers again before Night; it was order'd by K. Charles II. to be Rail'd around.

That so great a Tract of Land, as this Forest is, might not lie Defenceless, Henry VIII. began to Fortifie it with Castles; for in that Neck of Land, from whence is the shortest passage to the Isle of Wight, He Built Hurst-Castle, which commands the Sea on every side; and more Westward he built another strong Fort, call'd vulgarly Calshot, instead of Caldeshore, to secure the Entrance of Southampton-Bay; for here, by the distance of the two Shores, and by the opposite situation of the Isle of Wight, is form'd a very commodious Harbour, which Ptolemy calls, The Mouth of the River Trisanton, instead of Traith Anton, that is The Bay of Anton; for that the River, which we now call Test, was formerly call'd Ant, or Anton, we may infer from the Towns which lay upon it, viz. Antport, Andover, &e. On this Port is situated Southampton, between two Rivers, once / famous

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famous for the number and neatness of its Buildings, for the Riches of its Inhabitants, and a vast Concourse of Merchants, Fortify'd with a double Ditch, strong Walls, with several Battlements; but the Town is now very much decay'd; for having lost its Trade, it has lost most of its Inhabitants, and the once stately Houses of Rich Merchants are now dropping to the Ground, and only shew its ancient Greatness. There is now a Dock here for building Men of War; in which place Roman Coins have frequently been dug up. For the better Defence of the Harbour Richard II. built a strong Castle of square Stone on a high rais'd Mount. Memorable is that Action of the Powerful Canute, King of England and Denmark, done here, by which he reprov'd the Baseness of a flattering Courtier, who pretended that all things wou'd Obey his Royal Will and Pleasure. He order'd a Chair to be set for him on the Shore (says Henry of Huntingdon) and said to the Sea, flowing up to him, thou art under my Dominion, and the Land on which I sit is mine, nor has any one Disobey'd me without Punishment; thereof I command thee not to come upon my Ground, nor to wet the feet of Me, thy Lord and Master: But the disrespectful Waves soon came up, and wet his Royal Feet; upon which he stept back, and said, Let all the Inhabitants of the World know, that the Power of Monarchs is a vain and empty thing, and that none deserves the Name of King, but he whose Will, by an Eternal Law, the Heaven, Earth, and Sea Obey; nor wou'd he ever after suffer the Crown to be put upon his Head, &c.

To the North-East of this Southampton stood once another Town of the same Name, which was the Clausentum of Antonine, as seems probable from the distance of Regnum on one side, and Venta on the other.

Of those Rivers, between which Southampton is plac'd, the Western one, now call'd Test, rising out of the Forest of Chute, passes to Andover, in Saxon Andeafaran, that is, The Ferry or Passage of the River Ande: It is a very populous Corporation, where is a Free-School, Founded by John Hanson A.D. 1569, and an Hospital for the Maintenance of six Men / Built

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Built and Endow'd by Mr. John Pollen. After this the Test receives a small Stream call'd Wallop, or Wellop, from whence the ancient Family of Wallops Knights, who live near it, take their Name. Hence the Rivers runs in search of Brige, or Brage, an ancient Town, plac'd by Antoninus nine Miles from the Old Sorbiodunum; at which distance, between Salisbury and Winchester, not far from its own Banks, it finds a small Country Village, call'd Broughton: If that was not the old Brage, I am of opinion, that it was entirely demolish'd, when William the Conqueror turn'd all these parts into the Forest beforemention'd. The Rumsey, in Saxon, Rumseg, is visited by this River, which immediately runs into Southampton Bay, at the Vadum Arundis, as Bede calls it, which is interpreted as Redford, but now from the Bridge, where the Ford was, is call'd Redbridge. The other River which flows by the East side of Southampton, seems to have been call'd Alre, 'tis now call'd Itchin, from a Parish of that Name near its Head; upon it lies Alresford, which on May-Day, 1601, was destroy'd by a Fire that began in several parts of the Town almost at the same time, and burnt down their Market-house and Church, but most of the Houses and the Market-house are rebuilt. From this place to Alton there goes all along a Roman Highway, part of which makes a Head to an extraordinary great Pond here at Alresford; and nearer the River's Head are three noble Seats, Chilton-Candover built by the late Sir Robert Worsly, the Graunge by the late Sir Robert Henly, and Abbotston by the late Duke of Bolton. Near Alresford lies Tichborn, which gives its Name to an eminent and ancient Family.

On the Western Bank of this River is seated the famous City of the British Belgae, call'd, by Ptolemy and Antoninus, Venta Belgarum, by the Britans, to this day, Caer-Gwent; by the old Saxons Wintancester; by Latin Writers Windonia; and by us, at this time, Winchester. There are different opinions concerning the Etymology of its Name, but I am of the same opinion with our Countryman Leland, who derives it from the British Guin or Guen, that is, White, as Caer Gwin / the

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the white City; for this Venta, (as are two more of this same Name, Venta Silurum and Venta Icenorum) is seated in a Soil of Chalk and whitish Clay. This City was, doubtless, very famous in the Roman Times; for here it was the Roman Emperors seem to have had their Imperial Weaving Houses; for in the Notitia, there is mention'd a Procurator or Governor of the Cynegium Ventense in Britain, which Jacobus Cujacius reads Gynaecium, and interprets it the Royal-Weavery.

During the Saxon Heptarchy this place was the Palace of the West-Saxon Kings, adorn'd with stately Churches, and honour'd with an Episcopal See, and endow'd by King Ethelstan with the Privilege of six Money Mines. In the Norman Times it very much flourish'd, and the Archives or Publick Records were kept in it; and Edward III. settled here a Publick Mart for Cloth and Wool, which we call the Staple. At this time the City is pretty Populous and well Water'd; stretching from East to West, and contains above a Mile and a half within the compass of its Walls, which have six Gates, opening every way to large Suburbs. At the South side of the West Gate stood an ancient Castle, in the place of which is now a Royal Palace, begun by K. Charles II. 1683, but being unfinish'd, remains only the Model of a more noble Design. There was intended a large Cupulo thirty Foot above the Roof, which would have been seen a great way to Sea, and also a fair Street leading to the Cathedral Gate in a direct Line from the front of the House, for which, and for the Parks, the Ground was procur'd. The South-side is 216 Foot, and the West 326. 'Tis said to have Cost 25000l. already. Almost in the middle of the City, Kenelwach, King of the West-Saxons, Built (as Malmsbury writes) a Church, in which place was afterwards Erected a Cathedral, Built after the Model of the first, but much more stately. In this See from Wina, whom the same Kenelwach made first Bishops, there have been a long Succession of Persons no less Eminent for Wealth and Honour than Piety and Devotion, and, by a peculiar Privilege, are Chancellors to the Archbishop of Canter- / bury,

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bury, and Prelates of the Garter. Some of these, at great Expence, have Beautify'd and Enlarg'd this Church. At the East side of the Cathedral stood a stately Palace for the Bishops, call'd Wolvesey, which was seiz'd on in the late Civil Wars, and pull'd down, to make Money for the Lead, and other Materials; but since the Restoration, Bishop Morley laid out 2300l. on a very handsome Structure for that use, and dying before it was finish'd, left 500l. to compleat it. Over the Door is this Inscription.

Georgius Morley Episcopus has AEdes propriis Impensis de novo Struvit, A.D. 1684.

In the South Suburbs is a neat College, which William Wickham Bishop of this See (the greatest Patron and Encourager of Learning that was in England) Erected for a publick School, which has afforded great numbers of Learned Persons in the Church and State: in this are genteely maintain'd, a Warden, ten Fellows, two Masters, and seventy Scholars.

As to the Earls of Winchester (to pass by Clito, a Saxon, who at the coming of the Normans was depriv'd of this ancient Honour) King John created Saer Quincy Earl of Winchester, who was succeeded by Roger his Son, who dy'd without Issue Male. A long time after this, Hugh le Despencer was honour'd with this Title, during Life only, by Edward II. A pretty while after this, by the Bounty of Edward IV. Lewis de Bruges, a Pelegian, Lord of Gruthuse, and Prince of Steenhuse (who had entertain'd this Prince when he fled thither for Refuge) obtain'd this Title, with Arms not very different from those of Roger de Quincy, which, after the Death of Edward IV. he surrender'd up to Henry VII. Afterwards Edw. VI. honour'd William Pawlett, Lord-Treasurer of England, with a new Title of Marquis of Winchester; for whose Successors the Reader is referr'd to the Earls of Wiltshire.

From Winchester, more to the East, the River Hamble, which Bede calls Homelea from a large Mouth, is pour'd into the Sea; Bede says it runs through the / County

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Country of the Jutes into the Solente, so he names the Channel between Britain and the Isle of Wight; into which, at certain hours, two opposite Tides coming up with great violence from the Ocean, meeting here, caus'd so great an Admiration in our Forefathers, that they reckon'd it one of the wonders of Britain. Into this Channel another small River is empty'd, which rising near Warnford, runs between the Forest of Waltham, and that of Bere along by Tichfeild, where was formerly a small Monastery built by Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, wherein was solemnized the Marriage between Henry VI. and Margaret of Anjou. Here was formerly the Seat of the Wriotheslys, Earls of Southampton.

Thence the Shore turning and winding about, the Island call'd Portsey makes a Creek or Haven.

This Island is above 14 Miles in Circuit, and at each high Tide is surrounded by Sea Water, of which they make Salt, and it is joyn'd to the Continent by a Bridge; and here, at the Entrance into the Harbour, our Ancestors built a Town, which was thence call'd Portsmouth; which in war time is very Populous, and is now reckon'd one of the principal Chambers of the Royal Navy, being well furnish'd on shore with Docks wet and dry; Store-houses, Rope-yards, and all other materials and requisites of all kinds for the Building, Rigging, and Arming, Victualling, Repairing, and compleat fitting the Sea Ships of the greatest rates: It has also Dwelling Houses, and ample Accommodations for a Commissioner, and all the subordinate Officers, and Master-Artizans, needful for the Service of the Navy, both in Peace and war: It is a Place of great strength both to Sea and Land. This Place gave Title of Dutchess to Louise de Queronolle, one of the Mistresses of King Charles II. created Aug. 19. 1673, Dutchess of Portsmouth.

Hence from Portes-Bridge on a winding Shore is Havant, a small Market Town; and near is Warblinton; once a beautiful Seat of the Earls of Salisbury, now the Family of Cottons Knights. Before these lie two Islands, one call'd Haling, the other / Thorney,

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Thorney from the Thorns, each has its Parish Church. In several places on this Shore they make Salt of the Sea Water that comes up; it is at first of a pale green Colour, but by their Art they boil it to a pure White. Farther from the Sea lie the Meanvari, whose Country, with a very little alteration of the Name, is now divided into three Hundreds, Meansborow, Eastmean, Westmean, within which is rais'd Hill, encompass'd at the top with a large Trench, and call'd Old Winchester. There borded on these the Segontiaci, who submitted themselves to Caesar, and liv'd in the Hundred of Holeshot, in which we meet with Aulton, a Market Town, and Basingstock, a well frequented Market, with a very handsom Chappel, dedicated to the Holy Ghost, built by William the First, Lord Sands, who lies their [sic] buried. Below this, to the East, lies Basing, famous for its Lords of that Name, St. Johns, Poinings, and Pawlets. Near this place we see the Vines, which we have had more to Shade, indeed, than Fruit in Britain since the time of the Emperor Probus. Near this to the South-East lies Odiam, having a Palace of the Kings, and was once famous for being a Prison of David the 2d King of Scots.

Higher up among the Segontiaci, on the Northern edge of the Country, lay formerly the City of the Segontiaci, Vindonum, which losing its old Name, took that of its Inhabitants: for it was call'd by the Britains Caer-Segonte, that is, City of the Segontians, but we at this day call it Silcester: Our Historians write, That in the City was the Inauguration of our Warlike King, Arthur, and soon after the place was demolish'd, either in the Saxon Wars, or when Athelwolph, Rebelling against King Edward his Brother, assisted by the raging Danes, ruin's all this Country as far as Basing-Stoke.

More Northwards, in the very edge of the of this County, you see Kings-clear, a well frequented Market Town; Sidmanton, the Seat of the Family of Kingsmils Knights, and Burgh-Clear that lies under a Hill, the top of which is a Military Camp (such as our Ancestors call'd Burgh) encompass;d with a large / Trench,

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Trench; and there being a commanding Prospect from thence over all the County around, a Bacon is here fix'd, which by Fire gives notice to all the Neighbouring parts of the coming of an Enemy. These kind of Watch-Towers we call Beacons, from the old word Beacnian, that is, to Becken.

This County has had very few Earls except those of Winchester before-mention'd. In the beginning of the Norman Times, our Bogo, or Beavoife had this Title; he was a Man of great Courage and Conduct in War. From his Time we read of no Earl of this County till Henry VIII. who created William Fitz-William, in his Elder Years, Earl of Southampton, and Lord High Admiral of England; but he soon dying without Issue, Edward VI. bestow'd the Title on Tho. Wriothesly Lord Chancellor of England, who was succeeded by Henry his Grandson, and he by Thomas Wriothesly his Son, who upon the Restoration of K. Charles II. was created Knight of the Garter, and made Lord-High-Treasurer of England. He was thrice Marry'd, but left no Issue Male behind him, nor any to inherit his Title; so that, in the Year 1675, Charles Fitz-Roy, Eldest Son to the Dutchess of Cleaveland, had this Honour of Duke of Southampton, among other Titles, conferr'd upon him.

There are in this County 253 Parishes, and 18 Market-Towns; and hence are sent to Parliament 26 Members, viz. County.

Winchester.

Town of Southampton.

Portsmouth.

Yarmouth. [IoW]

Peterseild.

Newport in the Isle of Wight.

Stockbridge.

Newton. [IoW]

Christ Church.

Lymington.

Whitchurch.

Andover, each two.

REFERENCES

: 1761: Camden's Britannia Abridged: Wild, Joseph (London)