ANDOVER

market town, Test Valley district, administrative and historic county of Hampshire, England. It lies among chalk hills on the River Anton, a tributary of the Test, about 14 miles (22 km) northwest of Winchester and about 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Salisbury. The area is rich in prehistoric earthworks and tumuli. The witan (Anglo-Saxon national council) met there. Andover's earliest-known charter was granted in 1175. In the 14th century the town had a sheep fair, a woolen industry, and an iron market and also manufactured parchments and silk fabrics. It is now the centre of a large agricultural district; watercress is grown, there are flour mills, timber yards, and printing works, and agricultural equipment and plastics are manufactured. Andover Grammar School was founded in 1571. At Enham, north of Andover, is a village founded for disabled former servicemen after World War I. There are many military and air force establishments in the area, including the Royal Air Force Staff College. Pop. (1991) 34,647. town (township), Essex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies in the Merrimack River valley just south of Lawrence and 20 miles (32 km) north of Boston. Settled in 1642, it was incorporated in 1646 and named for Andover, England, home of many of the early colonists. Textile mills were established in Andover in 1813, and woolen goods are still produced. Andover is a centre for business services, trade, and the manufacture of electronic and computer systems, medical products, and chemicals. The town's renowned Phillips Academy was founded in 1778 as one of the nation's first boarding schools for boys; it was made coeducational in 1973 upon merging with the Abbot Academy for girls (1829). North Andover, home of Merrimack College (1947), was separated from Andover in 1855. Area 32 square miles (83 square km). Pop. (1990) 29,151; (1996 est.) 30,891.