Romsey — My Town

Track down historic photos of Romsey, and you realise the beauty of the town has changed little over time, and my walk through the town’s Market Place today reveals the charm of its architecture is as vibrant as ever.
Names may have changed on shop fronts, but the character remains.
In fact, the town’s present three-times a week street markets are today not held in the Market Place at all, but in the Cornmarket a few steps down the main thoroughfare.
The town’s markets go back to the Middle Ages. The historians tell us King Henry I granted Romsey its first charter which allowed a market to be held every Sunday, and a four-day annual fair in May. In the 13th century, Henry III permitted an additional fair in October.  In April 1607 King James I granted the town a further charter making it a borough and giving formal status to the town running its own affairs.
It seems much of the town’s growth in the Middle Ages was driven by the woollen industry which survived until the middle of the 18th century, when new fast-growing industries took over with brewing, papermaking and sack making, all reliant upon the abundant waters of the River Test.

Today this statue of Lord Palmerston, the 19th century Prime Minister dominates the Market Place. He was born at Broadlands, the country estate on the outskirts of the town, later to become the home of Lord Mountbatten.