Test Valley

Romsey: Norman abbey

Test Valley, borough (district), administrative and historic county of Hampshire, southern England, occupying a mostly rural area in the northwestern part of the county. The town of Andover, in the northern part of the district, is the administrative centre.

Situated directly north of the port of Southampton, Test Valley district embraces nearly the entire north-south length of the River Test before extending into low-lying chalk uplands in the north. The valley’s fertile agricultural land is interspersed with groves and forests (especially in the south). Andover has become its most populous centre by absorbing people from the Greater London area as part of a resettlement program. In the 14th century Andover produced woolen goods, parchments, and silks. Contemporary Andover has paper milling and printing industries. Romsey, in the south, is an ancient parish known for its abbey founded by Saxons in 907. Broadlands, the home of the lords Palmerston (1784–1865) and Mountbatten (1900–79), is nearby. A British army training base is located west of Andover at Tidworth, on the border of Test Valley district and the county of Wiltshire. Area 242 square miles (628 square km). Pop. (2001) 109,801; (2011) 116,398.