ROMSEY, Hampshire, a tLarket-town, municipal borough, and the seat of a Poor-Law Colon, in the parish of Romney lufra, is situated in 50' 59' N. lat., I' 30' W. long., distant 10 miles S.W. from Winchester, 73 miles S.W. from London by road, and 81 miles by the London and South Western railway. The population of the town of Romney in 1851 was 2081k The borough is governed bjr four aldermen and 12 councillors, of whom one is mayor. The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester. Romney Poor-Law Union containe,12 parishes, with an area of 27,373 acres, and a population in 1851 of 10,802.
itomsey stands on the left bank of the river Anton or Test, which is a bridge. The town at one time possessed some extenaiv maul:factures, but since the application of steam to machinery, these manufactures have been removed to districts where coal is abundant. One flax-spinning mill and a paper-mill are in operation, worked by water-power. The town is lighted with gas. The pariah church is a spacious cruciform structure. The exterior is chiefly of Norman
architecture ; the central portion of the interior, the transepts, and the sides of the chancel are also Norman; the west end of the church is early English. The church formerly belonged to an abbey of Benedic tine nuns, founded in the reign of Edward the Elder. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Independents,. Baptists, and Sandemanians have places of worship. There are National, British, and Infant schools ; an endowed school for 16 boys; an industrial school for girls, main tained by Viscount Palmerston; a literary and acientifie institution; a reading society, and a mutual improvement society for young men. There are in the town a town-hall ; an audit-house, supported on piers, with an open space below for the persons attending the market; a small borough jail; and some almshouses. The market is held on Thursday; fairs are held on Easter Monday, August 26th, and November 8th.