Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, erected a palace, which received additions from William of Wykeham, who died here in 1404, and from other bishops. The ruins are picturesque but not extensive.
See Victoria County History, “Hampshire,” R. Warner, Collections for the History of Hampshire; &c. (London, 1789); H. Moody, Hampshire in 1086 (1862), and the same author’s Antiquarian and Topographical Sketches (1846), and Notes and Essays relating to the Counties of Hants and Wilts (1851); R. Mudie, Hampshire, &c. (3 vols., Winchester, 1838); B. B. Woodward, T. C. Wilks and C. Lockhart, General History of Hampshire (1861–1869); G. N. Godwin, The Civil War in Hampshire, 1642–1645 (London, 1882); H. M. Gilbert and G. N. Godwin, Bibliotheca Hantoniensis (Southampton, 1891). See also various papers in Hampshire Notes and Queries (Winchester, 1883 et seq.).
HAMPSTEAD, a north-western metropolitan borough of
London, England, bounded E. by St Pancras and S. by St
Marylebone, and extending N. and W. to the boundary of the
county of London. Pop. (1901), 81,942. The name, Hamstede,
is synonymous with “homestead,” and the manor is first named
in a charter of Edgar (957–975), and was granted to the abbey
of Westminster by Ethelred in 986. It reverted to the Crown in
1550, and had various owners until the close of the 18th century,
when it came to Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, whose descendants
retain it. The borough includes the sub-manor of Belsize and
part of the hamlet of Kilburn.
The surface of the ground is sharply undulating, an elevated spur extending south-west from the neighbourhood of Highgate, and turning south through Hampstead. It reaches a height of 443 ft. above the level of the Thames. The Edgware Road bounds Hampstead on the west; and the borough is intersected, parallel to this thoroughfare, by Finchley Road, and by Haverstock Hill, which, continued under the names of Rosslyn Hill, High Street, Heath Street, and North End, crosses the Heath for which Hampstead is chiefly celebrated. This is a fine open space of about 240 acres, including in its bounds the summit of Hampstead Hill. It is a sandy tract, in parts well wooded, diversified with several small sheets of water, and to a great extent preserves its natural characteristics unaltered. Beautiful views, both near and distant, are commanded from many points. Of all the public grounds within London this is the most valuable to the populace at large; the number of visitors on a Bank holiday in August is generally, under favourable conditions, about 100,000; and strenuous efforts are always forthcoming from either public or private bodies when the integrity of the Heath is in any way menaced. As early as 1829 attempts to save it from the builder are recorded. In 1871 its preservation as an open space was insured after several years’ dispute, when the lord of the manor gave up his rights. An act of parliament transferred the ownership to the Metropolitan Board of Works, to which body the London County Council succeeded. The Heath is continued eastward in Parliament Hill (borough of St Pancras), acquired for the public in 1890; and westward outside the county boundary in Golders Hill, owned by Sir Spenser Wells, Bart., until 1898. A Protection Society guards the preservation of the natural beauty and interests of the Heath. It is not the interests of visitors alone that must be consulted, for Hampstead, adding to its other attractions a singularly healthy climate, has long been a favourite residential quarter, especially for lawyers, artists and men of letters. Among famous residents are found the first earl of Chatham, John Constable, George Romney, George du Maurier, Joseph Butler, author of the Analogy, Sir Richard Steele, John Keats, the sisters Joanna and Agnes Baillie, Leigh Hunt and many others. The parish church of St John (1747) has several monuments of eminent persons. Chatham’s residence was at North End, a picturesque quarter yet preserving characteristics of a rural village; here also Wilkie Collins was born. Three old-established inns, the Bull and Bush, the Spaniards, and Jack Straw’s Castle (the name of which has no historical significance), claim many great names among former visitors; while the Upper Flask Inn, now a private house, was the meeting-place of the Kit-Cat Club. Chalybeate springs were discovered at Hampstead in the 17th century, and early in the 18th rivalled those of Tunbridge Wells and Epsom. The name of Well Walk recalls them, but their fame is lost. There are others at Kilburn.
In the south-east Hampstead includes the greater part of Primrose Hill, a public ground adjacent to the north side of Regent’s Park. The borough has in all about 350 acres of open spaces. The name of the sub-manor of Belsize is preserved in several streets in the central part. Kilburn, which as a district extends outside the borough, takes name from a stream which, as the Westbourne, entered the Thames at Chelsea. Fleet Road similarly recalls the more famous stream which washed the walls of the City of London on the west. Hampstead has numerous charitable institutions, amongst which are the North London consumptive hospital, the Orphan Working School, Haverstock Hill (1758), the general hospital and the north-western fever hospital. In Finchley Road are the New and Hackney Colleges, both Congregational. The parliamentary borough of Hampstead returns one member. The borough council consists of a mayor, 7 aldermen and 42 councillors. Area, 2265 acres.
HAMPTON, WADE (1818–1902), American cavalry leader
was born on the 28th of March 1818 at Columbia, South Carolina,
the son of Wade Hampton (1791–1858), one of the wealthiest
planters in the South, and the grandson of Wade Hampton
(1754–1835), a captain in the War of Independence and a
brigadier-general in the War of 1812. He graduated (1836) at
South Carolina College, and was trained for the law. He devoted
himself, however, to the management of his great plantations in
South Carolina and in Mississippi, and took part in state politics
and legislation. Though his own views were opposed to the
prevailing state-rights tone of South Carolinian opinion, he threw
himself heartily into the Southern cause in 1861, raising a mixed
command known as “Hampton’s Legion,” which he led at the
first battle of Bull Run. During the Civil War he served in the
main with the Army of Northern Virginia in Stuart’s cavalry
corps. After Stuart’s death Hampton distinguished himself
greatly in opposing Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and was
made lieutenant-general to command Lee’s whole force of
cavalry. In 1865 he assisted Joseph Johnston in the attempt
to prevent Sherman’s advance through the Carolinas. After the
war his attitude was conciliatory and he recommended a frank
acceptance by the South of the war’s political consequences.
He was governor of his state in 1876–1879, being installed after
a memorable contest; he served in the United States Senate
in 1879–1891, and was United States commissioner of Pacific
railways in 1893–1897. He died on the 11th of April 1902.
See E. L. Wells, Hampton and Reconstruction (Columbia, S. C., 1907).
HAMPTON, an urban district in the Uxbridge parliamentary
division of Middlesex, England, 15 m. S.W. of St Paul’s cathedral,
London, on the river Thames, served by the London & South
Western railway. Pop. (1901), 6813. Close to the river, a mile
below the town, stands Hampton Court Palace, one of the finest
extant specimens of Tudor architecture, and formerly a royal
residence. It was erected by Cardinal Wolsey, who in 1515
received a lease of the old mansion and grounds for 99 years.
As the splendour of the building seemed to awaken the cupidity
of Henry VIII., Wolsey in 1526 thought it prudent to make him
a present of it. It became Henry’s favourite residence, and
he made several additions to the building, including the great
hall and chapel in the Gothic style. Of the original five quadrangles
only two now remain, but a third was erected by Sir
Christopher Wren for William III. In 1649 a great sale of
the effects of the palace took place by order of parliament, and
later the manor itself was sold to a private owner but immediately
after came into the hands of Cromwell; and Hampton
Court continued to be one of the principal residences of the
English sovereigns until the time of George II. It was the
birthplace of Edward VI., and the meeting-place (1604) of the
conference held in the reign of James I. to settle the dispute
between the Presbyterians and the state clergy. William III.,
riding in the grounds, met with the accident which resulted in
his death. It is now partly occupied by persons of rank in
reduced circumstances; but the state apartments and picture
