The Queen & Prince Philip

The Queen (Princess Elizabeth) married Philip Mountbatten, on Nov. 20, 1947. Her husband became Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Part of the honeymoon was at Broadlands, in Romsey.

Prince Charles & Princess Diana

After their marriage the royal couple came to Broadlands, in Romsey for the start of their honeymoon in July 1981.

Lord Mountbatten

Lord Mountbatten who died tragically in Ireland at the hands of the IRA in August 1979 lived at Broadlands Romsey for many years.  Broadlands was once the country home of Victorian prime minister Lord Palmerston. It  is now the home of Lord and Lady Romsey.

Lord Palmerston

Romsey was also the home of Lord Palmerston, the 19th century British Prime Minister who was born and lived at Broadlands, a large country estate on the outskirts of the town. A statue of Palmerston still stands in the Market Place outside the Town Hall.

Norman Thelwell

Norman lived in Timsbury on the Romsey outskirts with his wife, Rhona - an artist in her own right. He was known as 'the unofficial artist of the British countryside' and one of Britain's finest cartoonists. Norman Thelwell died early in 2004 at the age of 80, leaving behind a vast and much-loved body of work.

Worzel Gummidge

Worzel Gummidge lived in the Romsey area for quite a few years in the 1970's and 1980's thanks to the series on Southern Television. It was mainly filmed in the villages of Braishfield and Kings Somborne. Jon Pertwee starred as Worzel and Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally. Other stars included Geoffrey Bayldon, Mike Berry,  Mike Reid, Lorraine Chase, Jimmy Jewel and Barbara Windsor.

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) lived near Romsey and is buried in a churchyard at nearby East Wellow. She was an English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence during the Crimean War for her pioneering work in nursing, and was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night to tend injured soldiers. Nightingale laid the foundation stone of todays professional nursing.

Norman Goodland

Norman Goodland (Woodley & Timsbury) was a regular broadcaster on Radio Solent and was employed by the south's first television company - Southern Television. He regularly appeared on the South's first news programme Day By Day talking about country life and wrote many country articles for Hampshire County Magazine.

Kerrie Taylor

Bubbly 36 year old Kerrie Taylor who played Beth in the TV series "Where the Heart is" was born in Romsey. She is also well known for her five year role as Lucy Benson on the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera Hollyoaks. Other acting credits include Crossroads, Heartbeat, Clocking Off, Fallen, Casualty and most recently a role in BBC daytime serial drama Doctors.

Charlie Dimmock

Charlie Dimmock worked with Alan Titchmarsh on BBC's Ground  Force, and also had her own garden show, called Charlie's Garden Army. Charlie who lived in the Romsey area formerly run the Mill Water Gardens, a water garden centre once situated in Romsey.

Wilbert Vere Awdry

Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE born in Romsey (Ampfield) on15 June 1911. He was better known as the Reverend W. Awdry. He was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, best known as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine  There are currently 41 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972.

Ruth Rendell Mysteries

The TVS Ruth Rendell mysteries about Chief Inspector Wexford was filmed in Romsey which starred George Baker. Many scenes showed the Market Place, Romsey Abbey and the Memorial Park. A  house in Woodley Close (No 48) was even used for one episode.

Lawrie McMenemy

Lawrie McMenemy has lived in the Romsey area for many years now. He was the manager of Southampton FC when they won the FA Cup in 1976. The "Saints" beat Manchester United 1-0. He also went on to become manager of Northern Ireland.

David Gower

David Gower a close neighbour of Lawrie McMenemy was a English international at cricket. He ended his playing days with Hampshire County Cricket Club. He once featured in the BBC TV Quiz show called "They think it's all over"

David Frost

David Frost another Romsey resident is a very well known TV personality. He currently hosts "Breakfast with Frost". One of his earliest ventures was "That was the week that was".

Roger Waters

Roger was the creative genius in the group PINK FLOYD. This Romsey based musician is still performing in concerts. For the latest info go to his website at www.rogerwaters.org/

Rex and Geraldine Trayhorne

Rex and Geraldine are well respected artists living in the centre of Romsey.
Rex is a professional watercolour artist and a Member of the 'Royal Miniature Society'. He is also the Organiser and Secretary of the 'Wessex Artists Exhibitions' in the UK. Geraldine is very skilled at pottery with her own identifiable designs. She is also the Chairman of the Romsey Art Group