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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.
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Other Regional News


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BBC News

Crash bus caught on camera as driver hailed a hero
One of the first people on the scene thinks the driver ditched the bus to avoid a head-on crash.
Watch: Video shows swerving bus before river crash
The bus full of college students was seen crashing into a river on Thursday morning.
Drugs kingpins jailed for plotting rival's murder
James Harding, from Alton and Jayes Kharouti, from Surrey, appear at the Old Bailey.

UK News

BBC News

Starmer U-turns on benefits cuts after Labour backlash
Cuts to some disability benefits will only hit future claimants, not those already on it.
Four arrested after RAF Brize Norton break-in
Counter-terrorism police arrest four people after pro-Palestine activists claim they sprayed paint on planes.
Health alerts come into force ahead of second heatwave
The UK could see its hottest day of the year on Monday, as a likely heatwave coincides with Glastonbury and Wimbledon.

Alton Weather

BBC Weather - Forecast for Alton, GB

Today: Sunny Intervals, Minimum Temperature: 16°C (61°F) Maximum Temperature: 23°C (73°F)
Maximum Temperature: 23°C (73°F), Minimum Temperature: 16°C (61°F), Wind Direction: South Westerly, Wind Speed: 18mph, Visibility: Good, Pressure: 1020mb, Humidity: 66%, UV Risk: 6, Pollution: Low, Sunrise: 04:50 BST, Sunset: 21:23 BST
Saturday: Light Cloud, Minimum Temperature: 14°C (57°F) Maximum Temperature: 26°C (78°F)
Maximum Temperature: 26°C (78°F), Minimum Temperature: 14°C (57°F), Wind Direction: South Westerly, Wind Speed: 13mph, Visibility: Moderate, Pressure: 1024mb, Humidity: 77%, UV Risk: 4, Pollution: Low, Sunrise: 04:51 BST, Sunset: 21:23 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.

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