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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.



Other Regional News


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BBC News

Mystery of British woman who disappeared from a luxury Caribbean yacht
CCTV footage from 2021, released exclusively to the BBC, contains the last-recorded sighting of Sarm Heslop.
Police dispersal order in place during derby match
Southampton and Portsmouth meet for their first league match in 13 years on Sunday.
Tackling the hooligans - the role of the 'spotter'
A former police spotter's insight into intelligence gathering in the fight against football violence.

UK News

BBC News

Dozens of officers injured as up to 150,000 join Tommy Robinson rally
Some 25 arrests are made after "unacceptable violence" at demonstrations in central London, police say.
Unlimited contactless cards may lead to spending sprees
Spontaneous spending is likely to rise if the £100 limit on contactless cards is scrapped, academics say.
First sick children have left Gaza for UK - Cooper
The Foreign Office says the group of children will arrive in the UK "in the coming days".

Alton Weather

BBC Weather - Forecast for Alton, GB

Tonight: Mist, Minimum Temperature: 7°C (44°F)
Minimum Temperature: 7°C (44°F), Wind Direction: South Westerly, Wind Speed: 5mph, Visibility: Moderate, Pressure: 1013mb, Humidity: 95%, UV Risk: 0, Pollution: Low, Sunset: 19:21 BST
Sunday: Heavy Rain, Minimum Temperature: 11°C (52°F) Maximum Temperature: 17°C (63°F)
Maximum Temperature: 17°C (63°F), Minimum Temperature: 11°C (52°F), Wind Direction: Southerly, Wind Speed: 21mph, Visibility: Moderate, Pressure: 1010mb, Humidity: 91%, UV Risk: 2, Pollution: Low, Sunrise: 06:38 BST, Sunset: 19:19 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.

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