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Welcome to Alton Hampshire

An independent Alton website that promotes organisations, clubs and businesses in Alton, Hampshire. It also supports the charities The Lullaby Trust (safer sleep for babies) and Alzheimer's Society.
Follow Alton Hampshire on twitter @AltonHampshire and facebook.com/AltonHampshire.


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Alton News Archive



Other Regional News

BBC News

PC who lied about being attacked sentenced
Nadia Thurley falsely alleged she had been assaulted 14 times over a seven-month period.
Animal dumping follows other similar incidents
Dozens of hare and bird corpses were scattered in front of a community shop on Friday.
Tribute to 'greatly loved' man killed in crash
James Langlands, 43, died after being hit by a car in Petersfield in February.

UK News

BBC News

Energy grid needs £60bn upgrade to hit green target
New undersea cables and power lines could add up to £30 a year to energy bills, a new plan suggests.
Rwanda bill amendments overturned in Commons vote
Labour continues its opposition, flagging how six flights to space cost the same as each deportation.
Bill introduced to establish football regulator
The UK government will establish an independent football regulator when the Football Governance Bill is introduced in Parliament on Tuesday.

Alton Weather

BBC Weather - Forecast for Alton, GB

Tonight: Light Cloud, Minimum Temperature: 9°C (49°F)
Minimum Temperature: 9°C (49°F), Wind Direction: South Westerly, Wind Speed: 14mph, Visibility: Good, Pressure: 1014mb, Humidity: 94%, UV Risk: 0, Pollution: Low, Sunset: 18:16 GMT
Tuesday: Drizzle, Minimum Temperature: 9°C (48°F) Maximum Temperature: 13°C (56°F)
Maximum Temperature: 13°C (56°F), Minimum Temperature: 9°C (48°F), Wind Direction: South Westerly, Wind Speed: 13mph, Visibility: Moderate, Pressure: 1015mb, Humidity: 93%, UV Risk: 2, Pollution: Low, Sunrise: 06:05 GMT, Sunset: 18:18 GMT

A History of Alton Hampshire


By Jane Hurst


If you come to the Curtis Museum on Crown Hill, you can take a walk through the history of Alton - starting with the local geology. Local flint was made into tools by early man who roamed the area while the Bronze and Iron Age people settled here leaving behind pottery and metal work. The Romans established a posting station in nearby Holybourne and other evidence of them has been found in Alton with a villa near Alton’s Public Gardens.

Early Anglo-Saxons buried their dead above the town over a long period and part of their cemetery has been excavated. Grave goods included swords, shields, beads and the magnificent Alton Buckle - which can be seen in the Museum.

With the coming of the Normans in 1066, Alton grew as an important market and administrative centre for the surrounding area. The town had a thriving cloth industry in the medieval period with several clothiers and a fulling mill and, being on a main route between Southampton and London, it had four inns - the White Hart, George, Swan and the Pelican (which changed its name to the Crown at the Dissolution).

The mid-1600s was the time of the English Civil War and, being between Royalist Winchester and Parliamentary Farnham, Alton was the site of two battles in 1643. The second, on 13th December, was the more serious and ended with the Royalists seeking refuge in Alton’s Church of St Lawrence.

The 1700s were a time of regeneration for the town with a paper mill and breweries being established. Local hop growing expanded and travel improved with the formation of Turnpike Trusts. Upstairs, the Museum has displays of items that would have been familiar to Jane Austen when she lived in nearby Chawton in the early 1800s.

The railway from London came to Alton in 1852 and was later extended to Winchester, Basingstoke and Fareham. At the same time, Alton grew along the valley and a second parish church, All Saints’, was built at the western end of the town.

1880 saw the opening of the Alton’s Assembly Rooms, Cottage Hospital and Mechanics’ Institute on Crown Close with the Curtis Museum now filling the latter.

Alton continues to change and grow but its history can still be found if one knows where to look. If you have any queries do contact [email protected].

High Street Alton Hampshire Market Square Alton Hampshire Assembly RoomsAlton Hampshire The Watercress Line Alton Hampshire Alton artwork kindly supplied by Pellart

About AltonHampshire.co.uk


AltonHampshire.co.uk is an independent Alton website that promotes organisations, clubs and businesses in Alton, Hampshire. It also supports the charities The Lullaby Trust (safer sleep for babies) and Alzheimer's Society.

The logos at the top of this page and the business listings above display in a random order each this page loads.

If you would like your organisation or business featured on this site and promoted on the social media channels, please enquire through the Join page.

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