Romsey

Romsey (/ˈrɒmzi/ ROM-zee) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the town centre since 1857. The town was also home to the 20th-century naval officer and statesman Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who lived at Broadlands . Notable buildings include a 13th-century hunting lodge, an 18th-century coaching inn and the 19th-century Corn Exchange.

Romsey is one of the principal towns in the Test Valley Borough and lies on the River Test , which is known for fly fishing, predominantly trout. As of 2019, the town centre is undergoing substantial remodelling, with the stated aim of improving access for pedestrians and cyclists. Hampshire County Council expect the work to be complete in the summer of 2019.

See

• ⊙Romsey Abbey  is a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey. Until the dissolution it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery. It is the largest parish church in the county.

  The church was originally built during the 10th century, as part of a Benedictine foundation. The surviving church is the town's outstanding feature, which is all the more remarkable because the abbey, as a nunnery, would have been less well financially endowed than other religious establishments of the time.

• ⊙Broadlands is an 18th-century country house located just outside the town centre. It was designed in the Palladian style by the famous architect Capability Brown before being completed by Henry Holland in 1788. It has had a number of illustrious occupants, including Lord Palmerston and Louis Mountbatten. Broadlands has been the setting of two royal honeymoons, namely those of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1947 and then Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981. The house itself is a Grade I listed building and the surrounding gardens are Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Both are open to visitors on weekday afternoons in summer.
• ⊙King John's House is a 13th-century building that allegedly served as a hunting lodge for King John when he hunted in the nearby New Forest . This is unlikely, however, since it was built in 1256 and therefore 40 years after the king's death, though there is evidence that the beams were reused from an earlier structure. The original building and adjoining Tudor cottage have a number of unusual historical features, including 14th-century wall decorations and graffiti, a floor made from cattle metapodials, and a traditional monastic garden. Locals claim the house is haunted, with the Hampshire Ghost Society encountering a shrouded figure during their investigations between 2002 and 2008. The house is a Grade I listed building.
• ⊙ The White Horse Hotel is a Grade II listed, 18th-century coaching inn whose timber frames date back to the 1450s. Its medieval stone cellars indicate that the site may have hosted guests to Romsey Abbey as early as the 12th century. The existing assembly rooms are said to be where Lord Palmerston first engaged in political debate in the early 1800s. The building housed a hotel and brasserie, which until 2019, was owned and operated by Silks Hotels.
• ⊙ The existence of Sadler's Mill , the only mill to be developed on the main course of the River Test, is first recorded in the 16th century, when it functioned as a corn and grist mill. It was at one time owned by Lord Palmerston and later the Broadlands estate before passing to various private owners. Milling ceased in 1932 and the building was left derelict for many years until its restoration in 2005. Carbon dating during this restoration placed the earlier structure in the mid-17th century. It is a Grade II listed building.