Hampshire

Hampshire
Non-metropolitan and ceremonial county
Spinnaker Tower and Portsmouth Harbour (top), Winchester Cathedral (bottom left), and pannage in the New Forest (bottom right)
Ceremonial Hampshire within England Ceremonial Hampshire Historic Hampshire in the British Isles Historic Hampshire
Coordinates: 51°03′27″N 1°18′27″W / 51.0575°N 1.3075°W / 51.0575; -1.3075
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East
Established	Ancient
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
UK Parliament	List of MPs
Police	Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant	Nigel Atkinson
High Sheriff	Lady Edwina Grosvenor [1] (2022–23)
Area	3,769 km2 (1,455 sq mi)
• Rank	9th of 48
Population  (2022)[2]	1,877,917
• Rank	5th of 48
Density	498/km2 (1,290/sq mi)
Non-metropolitan county
County council	Hampshire County Council
Control	Conservative
Admin HQ	Winchester
Area	3,678 km2 (1,420 sq mi)
• Rank	5th of 21
Population  (2022)[3]	1,416,808
• Rank	3rd of 21
Density	385/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2	GB-HAM
GSS code	E10000014
ITL	UKJ33
Website	hants.gov.uk
Unitary authorities
Councils	Southampton Portsmouth
Districts
Districts of Hampshire   Unitary   County council area
Districts	Test Valley Basingstoke and Deane Hart Rushmoor City of Winchester East Hampshire New Forest Southampton Eastleigh Fareham Gosport Portsmouth Havant

Hampshire (/ˈhæmpʃər/, /-ʃɪər/ ^ⓘ; abbreviated to Hants.)^[a] is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. The city of Southampton is the largest settlement.

The county has an area of 3,769 km² (1,455 sq mi) and a population of 1,844,245, making it the 5th-most populous in England.^[4] The South Hampshire built-up area in the south-east of the county has a population of 855,569 and contains the cities of Southampton (269,781) and Portsmouth (208,100). In the north-east, the Farnborough/Aldershot conurbation extends into Berkshire and Surrey and has a population of 252,937. The next-largest settlements are Basingstoke (113,776), Andover (50,887), and Winchester (45,184). The centre and south-west of the county are rural. For local government purposes Hampshire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with eleven districts, and two unitary authority areas: Portsmouth and Southampton. The county historically contained the towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which are now part of Dorset, and the Isle of Wight.

Undulating hills characterise much of the county. A belt of chalk crosses the county from north-west, where it forms the Hampshire Downs, to south-east, where it is part of the South Downs. The county's major rivers rise in these hills; the Loddon and Wey drain north, into the Thames, and the Itchen and Test flow south into Southampton Water, a large estuary. In the south-east are Portsmouth Harbour, Langstone Harbour, and the western edge of Chichester Harbour, three large rias. The south-west contains the New Forest, which includes pasture, heath, and forest and is of the largest expanses of ancient woodland remaining in England.

Settled about 14,000 years ago, Hampshire's recorded history dates to Roman Britain, when its chief town was Venta Belgarum (now Winchester). The county was recorded in Domesday Book as divided into 44 hundreds. From the 12th century, the ports settlements grew due to increasing trade with the European mainland resulting from the wool and cloth, fishing, and shipbuilding industries. This meant by the 16th century, Southampton had become more populous than Winchester. In 20th century conflicts, including World War One and Two, Hampshire played a crucial military role due to its ports.

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