Romsey Heritage

Visitors to the Abbey in Romsey cannot miss the Charter Stone which was unveiled by the Queen on a visit to Romsey with the Duke of Edinburgh to help celebrate the 400th anniversary of the granting of the royal charter to the borough.

The charter stone was unveiled in 2007 to commemorate the granting of the charter in 1607 by King James 1.

The Queen and Duke attended the 350th anniversary charter celebrations in 1957, and the Royal couple were regular visitors to Broadlands while Lord Mountbatten was alive

The Portland stone column sculpture by Gary Breeze depicts words and images creating a 'sculptural map' of the town.

Breeze’s interest in local dialect words was an essential factor in winning this commission. Developed as a direct response to the site, Breeze chose the names of the River Test and its many ‘braids’, as well as its bridges and mills, which contain within them the essence of Romsey’s long social history, and produced a design which attempts to represent the complex interweaving of the town’s people and their watery heritage.

These names are carved to flow down the column of stone and, although it is purely decorative, the relative positions of the streams, bridges and mills have been carefully considered to create a ‘sculptural’ map. The proximity of the Abbey was a key factor in the development of this ‘classical’ design.

The column was unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen on June 8, 2007.