Basingstoke

Basingstoke is a large town in the county of Hampshire in the south of England. The 2001 Census recorded a population of 152 573. Basingstoke is a prosperous town with an above-average standard of living and low unemployment. It is a financial centre, and the location of the headquarters of the Automobile Association and Sun Life Financial of Canada (not to be confused with AXA Sun Life) in the UK. Other industries include drug manufacture, insurance and electronics.

Famous people

Famous people who were born in, or lived in, the Basingstoke area:

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• John Arlott, cricket journalist, writer and commentator
• Jane Austen, author (born in nearby Steventon and lived in nearby Chawton)
• Carl Barat, lead singer and guitarist with rock band The Libertines
• Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Great Britain
• Elizabeth Hurley, actress and model
• Sir James Lancaster, 16th century navigator and statesman
• Robert Steadman, composer and conductor
• Tanita Tikaram, singer-songwriter
• Ramon Tikaram, actor and elder brother of Tanita.
• Thomas Warton, academic and poet, holder of the title of Poet Laureate from 1785.