Romsey is a small market town, near the New Forest in the county of
Hampshire, England.
It is 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Southampton and 11 miles (18 km)
south-west of Winchester. Just over 13,000 people live in Romsey,
which has an area of about 4.93 square kilometres. (*more
information at bottom of page)
WOODPECKERS is a luxury bed and
breakfast in a peaceful location 10 minutes from the new forest and the
small market town of Romsey. We are a small family run business with a
friendly atmosphere. Breakfast on eggs from our own free range chicken and
home made preserves. The accommodation comprises of a double bedroom sitting
room with TV and DVD , bathroom with bath and shower all for your own
private use. You can pick up a network of footpaths just outside of our door
leading to woodlands local villages, restaurants and pubs.
Hill Farm Caravan Park, Branches Lane, Sherfield English, Romsey SO51 6FH Phone: 01794 340402 Fax: 01794 342358
Romsey lies on the River Test, which is famous for trout fishing. It
is one of the principal towns in the Test Valley Borough. A large
Norman abbey dominates the centre of the town.
Romsey was home of the late Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the 19th
century British prime minister Lord Palmerston, and the 17th century
philosopher and economist William Petty.
Romsey's MP has been Sandra Gidley of the Liberal Democrats since a
by-election in 2000 after the previous Conservative MP Michael
Colvin died with his wife in a house fire. Gidley's majority was cut
to 125 votes in the 2005 General Election, partly because the
Countryside Alliance targeted her as she opposes fox hunting.
Romsey is twinned with Paimpol in Brittany, France and Battenberg,
Germany.
The name Romsey is believed to have originated from the term Rūm's
Eg, meaning "Rūm's area surrounded by marsh". Rūm is probably an
abbreviated form of a personal name, like Rūmwald (glorious leader).
What was to become Romsey Abbey was founded in 907 AD. Nuns, led by
Elflaeda daughter of Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great,
founded a community ? at his direction ? in what was then a small
village. Later, King Edgar refounded the nunnery, circa 960 AD, as a
Benedictine house under the rule of St. Ethelflaeda whose devotional
acts included chanting psalms while standing naked in the cold water
of the River Test.
The village swelled alongside the religious community. Viking
raiders sacked Romsey in 993 AD, burning the down the church. But
the village recovered, and the abbey was rebuilt in stone in circa
1000 AD. The religious community flourished as a seat of learning ?
especially for the children of the nobility. A market was
established outside the abbey gates.
The Normans built the large current abbey that dominates the town
(between circa 1120 and 1140 AD) on the site of the original Saxon
church. By 1240 AD, 100 nuns lived in the convent.
King Henry I granted Romsey its first charter. This allowed a market
to be held every Sunday, and a four-day annual fair in May. In the
13th century, Henry III permitted an additional fair in October.
The lucrative woollen industry appears to have powered Romsey's
growth during the Middle Ages. Wool was woven and then fulled ?
pounded with wooden hammers whilst being washed. It was dyed, and
then exported from nearby Southampton.
Romsey continued to grow and prosper until plague struck the town in
1348-9. The Black Death is thought to have killed up to half of the
Romsey's population of 1000. The number of nuns fell as low as 19.
Prosperity never returned to the abbey. It was finally suppressed by
Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Many
religious buildings were destroyed during this time.
But the abbey was saved from demolition because part of it was a
parish church for the people of Romsey. The town purchased the abbey
from the Crown for ?100 in 1544. Ironically, the part of the abbey
that had saved the abbey, the church of St Lawrence, was then
demolished.
By the mid-16th century Romsey's population was about 1,500; its
woollen and tanning industries fuelled growth. In 1607 the town was
granted a charter making it a borough.
Romsey changed hands several times during the English Civil War.
Both Royalist and Parliamentary or Roundhead troops occupied and
plundered the town. Royalists remained in control of the borough
until January 1645.
Weymouth
unable to cope with the demand for B&Bs. New Forest
area is easy travelling distance and offers tranquil accommodation for the athletes and their
families.
Telephone-
01794 342400
E.mail-woodpeckersbandb@aol.com
