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ROMSEY THE ISLAND

Romsey lies discreetly back from the east bank of the River Test. The first settlers recognised the unsuitability of the low-lying land by the river bank, and chose to make their home slightly higher up on a platform of firm dry gravel, now dominated by Romsey Abbey.

This original settlement area is an island, flanked on both east and west by a network of waterways, which break away from the main flow of the river to the north of the town. The island was once surrounded by marshland, as well as by the numerous streams: its significance is reflected in the ‘ey’ ending to the name of Romsey, ‘ey’ deriving from an Old English word meaning island. (The meaning of the first part of the name is uncertain.)

THE WATERWAYS OF ROMSEY

The waterways of Romsey are the key to its existence and early prosperity. In the River Test, and its offshoots, the first inhabitants found not only clear water but also a bountiful supply of fish and other resources, together with a natural, moat-like protection. Over the centuries, the strategic river crossing at Middlebridge brought travellers to Romsey, including medieval monarchs heading towards the royal hunting grounds of the New Forest.

The waterways powered the mills that became a feature of the town. Three mills are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. These would have all been corn mills, but later centuries saw the arrival of fulling mills, which revolutionised the cloth-finishing industry from the 13th century onwards. The cloth trade was a major feature of Romsey until the 18th century, when the millers had to turn to other products, notably paper-making.

The mills and waterways continued to play a significant part through into the 20th century. Streams carried away the troublesome effluents from the great brewery complex, established by David Faber, in the 1880s, under the once renowned name of Strong & Co. Ltd. In recent years water gardens and fish farms in the vicinity have made good use of the waterways.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMSEY:

Early Romsey Over the years, archaeological units have painstakingly revealed and interpreted considerable evidence of Romsey’s early settlers.

Prehistoric people came to Romsey, though perhaps at first only seasonally. It was long before they formed any sort of settled community. Later, the Romans, or Romano-British, found it a good area for farming, but there may have been long periods in those early centuries when the site was virtually abandoned. The definite beginning of a continuous settlement is linked to 7th-century Saxons, who established a substantial and significant iron-smelting industry to the south of the present Abbey church. They probably supplied iron to the great settlement of Hamwic in Southampton.

The Foundation of Romsey Abbey

Undoubtedly, though, it was the arrival of the nuns in Romsey that brought prosperity and gave impetus to the developing town. That said, it is becoming increasingly difficult to give a precise date for the foundation of the Romsey nunnery. The accepted date has long been 907AD, but archaeologists and others are finding convincing evidence that suggests an earlier beginning for some form of ecclesiastical community.

In the 960s King Edgar certainly re-founded the Abbey under the Benedictine rule. For the following centuries their community continued to flourish as a centre for high-born and even royal ladies, though it declined after the Black Death of 1349 and never recovered its early glory. Throughout the life of the nunnery the Abbess was lord of the manor of Romsey Infra and Romsey Extra.

Abbey and Town

As well as fulfilling its own religious purpose, the Abbey was of vital importance to the people of Romsey. The still recognisable lay-out of the old part of town was dictated by the presence of the Abbey precinct, as well as by the natural terrain of the area: the Market Place and most of the roads in its vicinity can be firmly dated back to the 13th century at least. Royal charters gave the right to hold fairs and markets to the Abbess of Romsey Abbey, who within Romsey Infra (or inner Romsey) was answerable only to the king’s county sheriff in secular matters. It was largely due to the powers granted to the Abbess that Romsey was able to take advantage of its strategic position. Directly and indirectly, the Abbey community provided employment for the lay community, which grew accordingly.

The Cloth Industry and Romsey

Medieval Romsey was en route between the sheep-rearing hinterland of the Salisbury region and the wool staple port of Southampton. With the added facilities of watermills and suitably alkaline water, it offered an ideal situation for the cloth-finishing industries of fulling and dyeing. Many clothiers were among the leading citizens of the town: several town mayors were later to come from their ranks.

Mayor and Corporation

After the dissolution of Romsey Abbey, in 1539, the town began to emerge in its own right. By 1544 some leading inhabitants were already sufficiently well-organised to purchase the Abbey church from King Henry VIII on behalf of the town. It cost £100 and the deed of sale is displayed in the Abbey.

There had been mayors during the time of the nunnery and the town was ready to run its own affairs after the dissolution. However, it was only formally incorporated as a borough in 1607 by a grant of James I, who visited Romsey shortly afterwards. Photographic copies of the royal charter are displayed in the Town Hall and King John’s House.

Broadlands

King James I stayed with the St Barbe family of Broadlands on his historic visit to Romsey, shortly after he had signed the charter. At that time Broadlands had been a private estate for a few decades. Before then it had been the farmlands of the Abbey community.
In the 19th century the estate was owned by no less a person than the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, who took a great interest in the town and whose statue stands in the Market Place. More recently, Broadlands was the home of the late Lord Mountbatten of Burma and also became associated with royal honeymoons.

Early Communications

Romsey, an important market centre, was the hub of the region. All routes converged on the town and the key river crossing of Middlebridge.

In medieval times the Abbey was a half-way house between the royal and ecclesiastical centres of Winchester and Salisbury. Later, during the 17th-century Civil War, the town’s strategic position meant that the Royalists of Winchester vied with the Parliamentarians of Southampton for control of the town. On a national scale, though, the clashes were only of a minor nature.

Even with the decline of the cloth trade the significance of Romsey’s situation continued and, indeed, was enhanced by the arrival of the turnpike roads in the 18th century. Romsey became a recognised staging post for public as well as private coaches. Established hostelries such as The White Horse flourished: its one-time livery stables still survive at the rear of the site. Another coaching inn, The Bell Inn, even gave its name to the street that had been known as Mill Street until the 1720s. Associated service industries developed, and the population grew. This was the time that many small pubs first opened. Indeed, there were eventually so many drinking places that the saying was that someone was ‘so drunk he must have been to Romsey’.

Following the national trend, a canal was constructed in the 1790s. This canal went from Andover to Redbridge (near Southampton); there was a wharf at the present Plaza roundabout on the east side of town. Within seventy years, however, the canal was bought out by the Andover-Southampton Railway Company to create the second rail link through Romsey. This new north-south railway was largely built over the canal bed. Fortunately, a diversion of the line meant that a stretch of the old canal survived in Romsey and today provides a pleasant walk.

It was the arrival of the railways that ended Romsey’s success as a staging post. The town became an irrelevancy to through travellers, and The Bell Inn closed within a decade, though The White Horse diversified and continues to operate.

Late-19th-Century Industry

The railways that had threatened Romsey with economic disaster enabled the development of large breweries, because smooth-running trains opened up the potential market area. In the 1880s David Faber bought several of the existing small breweries in Romsey and amalgamated them under the name of one of them, Thomas Strong & Co. Ltd. Strong’s brewery was a thriving concern until the 1970s, well known for its County-wide advertisements, which proclaimed ‘You are now in the Strong Country’. Whitbreads took over Strong’s Brewery, and eventually withdrew from the town in the 1990s.

Other 19th-century businessmen, who also breathed new life into the economy of the town, were the Reverend Edward Lyon Berthon, Vicar of Romsey, who surprisingly ran a successful boatyard, and Mr William Williams, who revitalised one of the mills with the manufacture of leatherboards.

Into the Modern Era

Romsey moved fitfully into the age of technology. The Romsey Gas & Coke Company was formed as early as 1835, thanks largely to the availability of comparatively cheap coal via the canal. Electricity on the other hand only made its first, rather limited, appearance in 1927. Main drainage was resisted by the wary inhabitants until the 1930s, the thought of higher rates affecting votes and delaying progress.

Slow though the town may have been to accept some innovations, many Romsonians today are involved in the very latest technology, since major employers – such as the computer firm IBM and electronics specialists Roke Manor Research - operate nearby in one-time country mansions.

THE PEOPLE OF ROMSEY

Romsey has always been home to a solid trading and agricultural community, but has nevertheless produced several more cosmopolitan personalities. One such was the 17th-century polymath, Sir William Petty. The son of a dyer, he was born in Church Street, Romsey, and rose to become an anatomist, cartographer, economist and inventor. Knighted by King Charles II, he was a founder member of The Royal Society and a friend of Samuel Pepys, who mentions him in his famous diary. One of Petty’s descendants, through his daughter Ann, became the first Marquess of Lansdowne.

In 1686, Romsey was the birthplace of Giles Jacob; he became a renowned London lawyer. Giles Jacob was inspired by the philosophies of people like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, who believed that true debate was only possible if the meanings of words were clearly defined. In 1729 he published his great law dictionary, which remained in use into the 19th century, by which time it had been through numerous editions. Alexander Pope immortalised his work – perhaps a little mockingly - in the couplet:
Jacob, the Scourge of Grammar, mark with awe.
Nor less revere him, Blunderbuss of Law
A latecomer to whom Romsey owes a considerable debt of gratitude was Dr John Latham, who was already 57 years old when he retired to Romsey in 1797. A world-renowned ornithologist from Dartford, Kent, he studied Romsey’s local history in his retirement. Although his work was never published, seven hand-written volumes were bought by the British Museum after his death, and these are a constant source of information.

The 19th century saw the arrival of a colourful vicar. The Reverend E. L. Berthon not only ministered to his parish but also ran a boatbuilding and engineering business, which was a major employer and where his inventions were developed. Collapsible boats, originally designed as life-boats, were the mainstay of his enterprise and these were tested on the ever-useful waterways. The Reverend Berthon further used his expertise to make many sympathetic renovations to the Abbey without spoiling the essentially Norman atmosphere.

N.B. More of the town’s history is incorporated into the following Town Trail, specially devised for the 2007 Charter celebrations and retained because of its general interest.