Basingstoke

Basingstoke ( BAY-zing-stohk) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status. It is located 30 miles (48 km) north-east of Southampton, 48 miles (77 km) south-west of London, 27 miles (43 km) west of Guildford, 22 miles (35 km) south of Reading and 20 miles (32 km) north-east of the county town and former capital Winchester. According to the 2021 population estimate, the town had a population of 107,642. It is part of the borough of Basingstoke and Deane and part of the parliamentary constituency of Basingstoke. Basingstoke is an old market town and was mentioned in Domesday Book. At the start of the Second World War, the population was little more than 13,000, and it remained a small market town until the early 1960s. It still has a regular market, but is now larger than Hampshire County Council's definition of a market town. Basingstoke became an important economic centre during the second world war. It expanded further in the mid-1960s as a result of an agreement between London County Council and Hampshire County Council. It was developed rapidly along with various other towns in the United Kingdom, in order to accommodate part of the London 'overspill' as perceived under the Greater London Plan in 1944. It now houses the UK headquarters of Motorola, The Automobile Association, De La Rue, Sun Life Financial, ST Ericsson, Barracuda Networks, Eli Lilly and Company, FCB Halesway part of FCB, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions (the leasing arm of BNP Paribas in the UK) and Sony Professional Solutions. It is also the location of the European headquarters of the TaylorMade Golf Company. Other industries include IT, telecommunications, insurance and electronics.