Hampshire

Hampshire (abbr. Hants) is a county on the south coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county is 1,455 square miles (3,769 km²) in size and at its widest points is approximately 55 miles (90 km) east-west and 40 miles (65 km) north-south. The county town is Winchester situated at {{coor dms|51|03|35|N|1|18|36|W|}}. The 2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1.24 million; the ceremonial county also includes the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which are administratively independent, and has a total population of 1.6 million.

Cities, towns, and villages

Hampshire's county town is Winchester, a historic city that was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Wessex. The port cities of Southampton and Portsmouth were split off as independent unitary authorities in 1997, although they are still included in Hampshire for ceremonial purposes. Fareham, Gosport and Havant have grown into a conurbation that stretches along the coast between the two main cities. The three cities are all university cities, Southampton being home to the University of Southampton and Southampton Solent University (formerly Southampton Institute), Portsmouth to the University of Portsmouth, and Winchester to the University of Winchester (formerly known as University College Winchester; King Alfred's College).

Related Topics:
County town - Winchester - Wessex - Southampton - Portsmouth - Unitary authorities - 1997 - Fareham - Gosport - Havant - Conurbation - University - University of Southampton - Southampton Solent University - University of Portsmouth - University of Winchester

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Hampshire lies outside the green belt area of restricted development around London, but has good railway and motorway links to the capital, and in common with the rest of the south-east has seen the growth of dormitory towns since the 1960s. Basingstoke, in the north of the county, has grown from a country town into a business and finance centre. Aldershot, Portsmouth, and Farnborough have strong military associations with the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force respectively. The county also includes several market towns; Andover, Bishop's Waltham, Lymington, Petersfield, Ringwood, Romsey, and Whitchurch.

Related Topics:
Green belt - London - Railway - Motorway - Dormitory town - 1960s - Basingstoke - Aldershot - Portsmouth - Farnborough - Army - Royal Navy - Royal Air Force - Andover - Bishop's Waltham - Lymington - Petersfield - Ringwood - Romsey - Whitchurch

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Towns by population size: (2004 est.)

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• Southampton - 221,100
• Portsmouth - 188,700
• Havant - 116,300
• Winchester - 35,200

For the complete list of settlements see List of places in Hampshire.

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