town (parish), Test Valley district, administrative and historic county of Hampshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Southampton on the River Test. It is dominated by a massive Norman abbey, which replaced an earlier wooden church established for Benedictine nuns in 907 CE. Romsey lies on the edge of the New Forest (historically one of the great royal hunting grounds of England), and east of the church there is a hunting lodge used by King John in 1210 and now a museum. A market town and rural service centre, Romsey has an old-established brewery and some modern light industries. Pop. (2001) 14,647.