Portal:Hampshire

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Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire or Hamptonshire, (abbr. Hants) is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county has an area of 1,455 square miles (3,769 km²) and at its widest points is approximately 55 miles (90 km) east-west and 40 miles (65 km) north-south. The county town is Winchester situated at 51°03′35″N, 1°18′36″W. The 2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1.24 million; the ceremonial county also includes the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which are administratively independent, and has a total population of 1.6 million. Christchurch and Bournemouth, within the historic borders of the county, were made part of the non-metropolitan county of Dorset in 1974.

Hampshire is a popular holiday area, with tourist attractions including its many seaside resorts, the maritime area in Portsmouth, and the motor museum at Beaulieu. The New Forest National Park lies within the borders, as does a large area of the South Downs, which is also scheduled to become a National Park. Hampshire has a long maritime history and two of England's largest ports lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of the writers Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

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Farnborough is a town in the Hampshire borough of Rushmoor in South East England. It is perhaps best known as the home of the Farnborough Air Show which takes place once every two years. The town is home to Farnborough Aerodrome and the international headquarters of BAE Systems.

Farnborough is situated in the northeast of Hampshire and near to the boundary with Surrey. The River Blackwater forms part of the boundary. It is located 53 km (33 miles) southwest of London.

Farnborough includes several small villages, including Cove and Southwood. Based in the town is the council of the local government district of Rushmoor. The district has borough status and also covers nearby Aldershot.

Farnborough was founded in Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is formed from Ferneberga which means 'fern hill'.

The town is the home of Saint Michael's Abbey. The Imperial Crypt there is the burial place of Napoleon III (1808 - 1873), Emperor of the French, and his wife Empress Eugenie (1826 - 1920) and their son Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial, who was killed in South Africa aged 23, on (1st June 1879) by the Zulus. The crypt of St Peter's Old Parish Church [1] is also believed to house the remains of many of the Earls of Anglesey.

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Credit: Alan Ford
Trees on Southampton Common in winter

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Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress, fashion model, producer and designer. She was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England in 1965. Hurley's father, a lapsed Catholic of Irish descent, was a British Army major, while her mother, an Anglican, was a schoolteacher at Kempshott Infant School. She has an older sister, Debbie, and a younger brother, Michael.

A start in Hurleys' career came in the late 1980s, when she won a Face of the Year competition at a local newspaper in Winchester, and gained a year's modelling contract with a prestigious London firm as the first prize. She made her first film appearance in Aria in 1987 and attracted some attention with the Dennis Potter-directed UK TV movie Christabel in the late 1980s, and appeared in several low budget English and Hollywood films, including the 1992 thriller Passenger 57, in which Hurley played a stewardess. She also appeared on television on both sides of the Atlantic, appearing in the British series Rumpole of the Bailey and the George Lucas-produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

In 1994 Hurley attended the London première of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral starring her then-companion Hugh Grant. Hurley's appearance in a black plunging Versace dress held together with gold safety pins gained her considerable media attention. It has often been referred to simply as "that dress" and is credited with the launch of her high profile career.

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