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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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Other Regional News

BBC News

Police identify 24 suspects over hospital drug deaths
Several people are being investigated for alleged gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths.
Bin workers ill after touching 'hazardous substance'
Three workers suffer nausea and headaches while emptying bins at a business park in Romsey.
Ambulance overturns after near-miss with car
The emergency vehicle, on a blue light call, swerved off a main road into a ditch, police say.

UK News

BBC News

UK-linked firms suspected of busting Russia sanctions
The government is investigating 37 companies - but has yet to hand out any fines, the BBC discovers.
Ministers to consider scrapping short jail terms
Shorter sentences are among the options in a review expected to be headed by former Tory MP David Gauke.
‘I nearly died drinking a ginger beer – my school’s EpiPen saved my life’
Campaigners want businesses to have EpiPens on hand to treat people having dangerous allergic reactions.

Alton Weather

BBC Weather - Forecast for Alton, GB

Tonight: Clear Sky, Minimum Temperature: 2°C (36°F)
Minimum Temperature: 2°C (36°F), Wind Direction: North Westerly, Wind Speed: 2mph, Visibility: Moderate, Pressure: 1016mb, Humidity: 95%, UV Risk: 0, Pollution: Low, Sunset: 18:18 BST
Friday: Sunny, Minimum Temperature: 5°C (41°F) Maximum Temperature: 12°C (53°F)
Maximum Temperature: 12°C (53°F), Minimum Temperature: 5°C (41°F), Wind Direction: Southerly, Wind Speed: 4mph, Visibility: Moderate, Pressure: 1017mb, Humidity: 77%, UV Risk: 3, Pollution: Low, Sunrise: 07:23 BST, Sunset: 18:16 BST

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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