Hampshire - Cities, Towns and Villages

Cities, Towns and Villages

Hampshire's county town is Winchester, a historic city that was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Wessex and of England until the Norman conquest of England. 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).The northeast of the county houses the Blackwater Valley conurbation, which includes the towns of Farnborough, Aldershot, Blackwater and Yateley and borders both Berkshire and Surrey.

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 northern part of the county, has grown from a country town into a business and financial 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: Alton, Andover, Bishop's Waltham, Lymington, New Milton, Petersfield, Ringwood, Romsey and Whitchurch.

Cities and Towns by population size: (2001 census)

• Southampton – 244,224
• Portsmouth – 207,100
• Basingstoke – 90,171 (town), 152,573 (borough)
• Gosport – 69,348 (town), 77,000 (borough)
• Waterlooville – 63,558
• Aldershot – 58,120
• Farnborough – 57,147
• Fareham/Portchester – 56,010 (town), 109,619 (borough)
• Eastleigh – 52,894 (town), 116,177 (borough)
• Andover – 52,000
• Havant – 45,435 (town), 115,300 (borough)
• Winchester – 41,420 (town), 116,600 (district)
• Fleet – 32,726

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