ANDOVER, a parish and borough and market-town, having
exclusive jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of Andover,
Andover division of the county of SOUTHAMPTON, 26 miles (N. by
W.) from Southampton, and 64 (W. S. W.) from London,
containing, with the chapelry of Foxcote, 4219 inhabitants.
Andover, or, according to the charter, and official documents,
Andever, is a corruption of the Saxon Andeofara, which
signifies the passage of the Ande, denoting the proximity of
the town to the small river Ande, or Anton. In the church at
this place Anlaf, King of Norway, in 994, received the
sacrament of confirmation, under the sponsorship of King
Ethelred, promising that he would never more come in a hostile
manner to England, which engagement he religiously performed.
The town, situated on the border of the Wiltshire downs, and
near the edge of an extensive tract of woodland, forming the
north-west portion of the county, is neat, airy, and well
built: it consists principally of three long streets, not
lighted, but well paved under an act obtained in 1825, and is
plentifully supplied with water. There is a small theatre; and
during Weyhill fair assemblies are held in the town hall. The
manufacture of silk has, of late, entirely superseded that of
shalloons, which was formerly carried on to a great extent;
and the construction of a canal from this town, through
Stoekbridge, to Southampton Water, has, by the increased
facility of conveyance, materially improved its trade,
particularly in corn, malt, and timber; of the last, a vast
quantity is forwarded from Harewood Forest, for the supply of
Portsmouth dockyard. The principal market is on Saturday, and
there is a smaller one on Wednesday. The fairs are on Mid-
Lent Saturday and Old May-day, for horses, cattle, cheese, and
leather; on the 16th of November for sheep, and on the
following day for horses, hops, cheese, &c. Three miles west
of Andover, and within the outhundred belonging to the town,
is Weyhill, where an annual fair is held, which, although
originating in a revel anciently kept on the Sunday before
Michaelmasday, has gradually become the largest and best
attended in England; merchants and manufacturers from every
part of the kingdom assembling here for the transaction of
business. It is held on October 10th and six following days,
by charter of Queen Elizabeth, confirmed by Charles II. The
first day is noted for the sale of sheep, of which the number
sold has frequently exceeded one hundred and seventy thousand;
on the second, the farmers hire their servants, after which
hops, cheese, horses (particularly cart colts), cloth, &c.,
are exposed for sale; during the first three days the bailiff
of Andover holds a court of pie-powder, and receives twopence
from each booth, in acknowledgment of his jurisdiction. An
additional fair, principally for sheep, was instituted in
1829, and is held on the 1st of August. The town received its
first charter of incorporation from King John; but that under
which it is now governed was granted by Elizabeth. The
government is vested in a high steward, recorder, town clerk,
twelve approved men, and twelve capital burgesses. A bailiff
and two magistrates, having exclusive jurisdiction, are
annually chosen, by the members of the corporation generally,
from among the "approved men," the bailiff appoints two
Serjeants at mace to attend him. Courts of session for the
borough are held quarterly; and there is a court of record for
debts and damages under £40, held every Monday, under an act
passed in the 41st of Elizabeth, at which the bailiff and
steward, or his deputy, preside. The town hall was erected in
1825, at an expense of £7000, towards defraying which each of
the then members for the borough, Sir J. W. Pollen, Bart., and
T. A. Smith, Esq., presented £ 1000. It is a handsome and
spacious building of stone, surmounted by a cupola: on the
ground-floor is the market-house, over which are a council-
room for transacting the business of the corporation, and a
hall for holding the quarter sessions. The borough sent
representatives to all the parliaments of Edward I., but made
no return after the first of Edward II. till the 27th of
Elizabeth, since which period it has continued to send two
members to parliament: the right of election is vested in the
corporation; the bailiff is the returning officer. The living
is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester,
rated in the king's books at £17. 4. 3., and in the patronage
of the Warden and Fellows of Winchester College. The church,
dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient building with a fine
Norman doorway at the west end; the chancel is separated from
the nave by the belfry. There are places of worship for
Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyan
Methodists. The grammar school, in which ten boys are
educated, each paying two guineas per annum, was founded and
endowed, in 1569, by John Hanson, Esq., whose benefaction was
subsequently increased by Richard Kemis: the master, who
receives £20 per annum, resides in the house, and is allowed
to take private pupils: the school-house was built by the
corporation, on land given by Richard Blake, Esq., and is kept
in repair at their expense. In 1719, John Pollen, Esq., one of
the representatives of the borough, erected a school-house,
and endowed it with £10 per annum, for educating twenty poor
children. A National school, in which two hundred and fifty
children are educated, is supported by subscription. An
hospital for eight poor men was founded by John Pollen, Esq.;
and six unendowed almshouses for poor women were erected with
funds bequeathed by Catherine Hanson, who also gave an acre of
ground, planted with trees, to be appropriated as a walk for
the recreation of the inhabitants. The Roman road from
Winchester to Cirencester passed near Andover, and is yet
visible in Harewood coppice; and, besides two or three small
encampments near the town, there is a larger one, about a mile
to the south-west, on the summit of Bury hill. Some beautiful
specimens of Roman pavement have recently been discovered in
the neighbourhood. Andover gives the inferior title of
viscount to the Earl of Suffolk.