4. High Street

In Georgian times Andover was one of the most important coaching towns in southern England. Coaches travelled all over the country for more than two centuries until railways changed our lives forever. The Regency façade of The Star and Garter conceals an older interior and a wilder history. Charles I rested here in 1644 after the Battle of Andover and George III often broke his journey down to his favourite resort at Weymouth by staying overnight. Other visitors included Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton and the famous General Tom Thumb from Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Several of the many High Street coaching inns survive including The Globe which has retained its name from at least 1742.

Dominating the Georgian High Street is Andover Guildhall, a Grade II listed building, built in 1825 and the third of its kind to stand on the same site. Records exist in 1470 of a Guildhall on two levels. By 1583 there was a new ‘towne house’ or Guildhall but during the Civil War it was damaged by troops and by 1725 needed rebuilding. A new Guildhall was built with the ground floor open for shops and market stalls and the Upper Guildhall for the town’s government. Today the upper floor retains its civic role but the ground floor is back in commercial use as a restaurant.

Andover lies on the Trafalgar Way, the271 mile route used by express post-chaise to deliver the momentous news of Vice Admiral Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar to the Admiralty in 1805. A plaque commemorating the route can be found on Andover Guildhall.