Basingstoke is a town of 80,000 people in the northeast area of Hampshire, England. It is in a valley near the source of the River Loddon. It is about 48 miles from London.The town has a slightly unusual history, and it is often mistaken as an entirely modern town established in the 1950s. However, Basingstoke was built and expanded on the side of an ancient market town which was mentioned as far back as the Domesday Book.
Although it is not far bigger than the definition of a market town, Basingstoke still has a small town market in its centre. The town was rapidly developed as part of an agreement with our other councils to create more housing and business opportunities as the population of this area of England was rapidly growing.
Amongst the places of interest there, there were signs a very early settlement as far back as the Iron Age. The hill fort of Winklebury, which is located about 2 miles away from the centre of the town, is from the Iron Age. Basingstoke’s history is a market town dates back as far as 1214, when it was first mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has held a market every Wednesday since then.
Today the town is very lively and busy and has plenty of shopping centres and a multi-storey car park. It is also a fairly significant business centre and has been considered since its rapid expansion in the fifties and sixties as an overspill area of London.
Unfortunately, the town has shown not to be a particularly popular place to move to or visit, having being voted by an informal survey as the ninth worst place to live in the country. In spite of this, the town is still of great importance and has a lively sports scene and a lively and busy atmosphere.
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