In 1830 there were no railways in southern England.

Most transport was by horse drawn coach or cart. Pigot’s 1830 Directory lists the facilities in Romsey. There were several inns which dealt with coaches. The Royal Mail coach travelling from Southampton to Bristol used the Bell Inn in Bell Street to change horses and pick up passengers although the mail was collected from the Post Office in the Market Place (the current NatWest building). The mail from London came in every morning by mail cart from Winchester and outgoing mail was sent back every evening. All coaches except the Portsmouth and Bristol Mail called at the White Horse which served the commercial trade from London, Southampton and Gosport. The Southampton through Salisbury, Warminster and Bath route used coaches called The Old Gosport, the White Hart and the York House. The White Horse was at that time run by Sarah Bell.

Regular long distance carriage of goods was dealt with by carriers. These men used a number of the other inns in the town to make collections. Thomas Aslett and William Burnett’s waggons ran twice weekly from London to Poole and back through Ringwood. Aslett stopped at the Dolphin( now Smith Bradbeer’s) in the Cornmarket and Burnett at the Falcon (lately the Abbey Hotel) in Church Street. The Star in the Horsefair was used by Henry Butler who followed the route from Southampton through Romsey and Stockbridge to Appleshaw once a week. Norris and Dawswell also used the Star en route from Southampton to Romsey and Broughton twice weekly. Soloman Southwell travelled twice weekly from Southampton to Lockerley calling at the Vine in Cherville Street, Romsey. Thomas Complin ran 3 times a week from Romsey to Winchester from the White Swan in the Market Place. Local men also ran carrier services William Sawyer went twice weekly and William Smith once a week to Salisbury from their homes in Bell Street. William Webb, cornfactor, ran a carrying service from Portsmouth to Southampton 3 times a week picking up in Romsey from his house in the Hundred despite the fact that the Pavement Commissioners had asked him not to load his wagons in the street in front of his house six years earlier, in 1824.

In addition to these road services Romsey people could also sent goods by canal barge from the wharf near the present Plaza Theatre to Redbridge.

Romsey Local History Society Mary Harris