Hampshire

---

Hampshire is one of the Southernmost counties of England, nestling between West Sussex to its East and Dorset and Wiltshire to its West. To the North it meets with Surrey and Berkshire. In the bygone days of previous centuries the County was referred to as the County of Southampton. Further back many of the County's towns have Roman links.
The county is one of the most densely populated in the country. Its county town is Winchester, a charming place, and quite traditionally English. In the South East of the County lays Portsmouth jutting out into the Solent just north of the Isle of Wight. Portsmouth being best known for being ‘the home of the Royal Navy and many a naval ancestor will have passed through this city. Also famous amongst its personal ancestry are Charles Dickens and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to name but two. The rest of Hampshire can boast such famous names as Jane Austen (Chawton) and Gilbert White (Selbourne).

Despite its high population density Hants still has large rural areas boasting numerous quaint olde English villages, such as the areas in and around the New Forest, and in the green belt to the North of the County.

For the Family Historian, Hampshire is a rich County. There is a thriving Family History Society (HGS) and a large and helpful County Record Office in Winchester as well as numerous City Record Offices such as Portsmouth, who boast a wealth of local information. There are other smaller society's, some genealogical in format some local history in bearing, but all have produced, to one degree or another, numerous useful publications.