Winchester
§ This page gives an overview of the Winchester local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. This is one of 361 LAD profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Winchester, set in the Itchen Valley, is a historic cathedral city surrounded by countryside. Winchester Cathedral, one of Europe’s largest Gothic cathedrals, dominates the city, while medieval streets, the Great Hall with King Arthur’s Round Table, and riverside walks highlight its heritage. The South Downs National Park surrounds much of the district, with rolling hills, chalk streams, and picturesque villages. The blend of historic city, river landscapes, and scenic countryside defines Winchester’s geography.
Winchester Boundary Map
This map shows the official boundary of the Winchester local authority district, based on the latest geographic data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides a clear view of the district’s extent and helps you understand how the area fits within the wider regional and national landscape.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The administrative boundary of Winchester can also be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Winchester.
Key Facts about Winchester
What region is Winchester in? Winchester is in the South East of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Winchester in? Winchester is located in the county of Hampshire.
Is Winchester a city? Yes, Winchester is a city. Winchester holds official city status as one of the 76 designated cities in the UK.
Who governs Winchester? The local authority for this district is: Winchester City Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Hampshire is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Hampshire County Council.
▶ Official website of Winchester City Council 🔗 winchester.gov.uk
Which police force covers Winchester? Policing in Winchester is provided by Hampshire Constabulary 🔗 hampshire.police.uk, which serves 14 local authority districts: Basingstoke and Deane ⁞ East Hampshire ⁞ Eastleigh ⁞ Fareham ⁞ Gosport ⁞ Hart ⁞ Havant ⁞ Isle of Wight ⁞ New Forest ⁞ Portsmouth ⁞ Rushmoor ⁞ Southampton ⁞ Test Valley ⁞ Winchester.
Constituencies in Winchester
Winchester is divided into 3 parliamentary constituencies, listed below in alphabetical order.
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Winchester
Winchester is divided into 16 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Alresford and Itchen Valley
- Badger Farm and Oliver's Battery
- Bishop's Waltham
- Central Meon Valley
- Colden Common and Twyford
- Denmead
- Southwick and Wickham
- St Barnabas
- St Bartholomew
- St Luke
- St Michael
- St Paul
- The Worthys
- Upper Meon Valley
- Whiteley and Shedfield
- Wonston and Micheldever
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data. We have this list page for easy browsing of all electoral wards: List of all Electoral Wards in the UK.
Parishes in Winchester
Winchester is part-parished: 48 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 3 unparished areas.
- Badger Farm
- Beauworth
- Bighton
- Bishops Sutton
- Bishops Waltham
- Boarhunt
- Bramdean and Hinton Ampner
- Cheriton
- Chilcomb
- Colden Common
- Compton and Shawford
- Corhampton and Meonstoke
- Crawley
- Curdridge
- Denmead
- Droxford
- Durley
- Exton
- Hambledon
- Headbourne Worthy
- Hursley
- Itchen Stoke and Ovington
- Itchen Valley
- Kilmiston
- Kings Worthy
- Littleton and Harestock
- Micheldever
- New Alresford
- Newlands
- Northington
- Old Alresford
- Olivers Battery
- Otterbourne
- Owslebury
- Shedfield
- Soberton
- South Wonston
- Southwick and Widley
- Sparsholt
- Swanmore
- Tichborne
- Twyford
- Upham
- Warnford
- West Meon
- Whiteley
- Wickham and Knowle
- Wonston
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
We have this list page for easy browsing of all parishes: List of Civil Parishes in England and Wales.
Post Towns in Winchester
Below is a list of post towns in Winchester, grouped by postcode area:
- SO ▸ Alresford (SO24) ⁞ Winchester (SO21 / SO22 / SO23 / SO25)
The UK postal hierarchy begins with broad postcode areas (such as “CB” or “M”), which are divided into smaller postcode districts (such as “CB8” or “M1”) to support accurate mail routing. Each postal address is anchored by a designated post town, the official locality name used in the UK postcode system, which operates independently from Local Authority Districts —the administrative boundaries used for council tax and local government services. Because they serve different purposes, a property’s postal address and its local authority district do not always align exactly.
Built-up Areas in Winchester
Winchester covers 57 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bishop's Sutton
- Bishop's Waltham
- Botley *
- Bramdean
- Chandler's Ford *
- Cheriton
- Colden Common
- Compton (Winchester)
- Crawley (Winchester)
- Curbridge (Winchester)
- Curdridge
- Denmead
- Droxford
- Durley *
- Eastleigh *
- Easton (Winchester)
- Fareham *
- Fisher's Pond
- Gundleton
- Hambledon (Winchester)
- Horndean *
- Horton Heath *
- Hursley
- Itchen Abbas
- Kings Worthy
- Knowle *
- Littleton (Winchester)
- Locks Heath *
- Meonstoke and Corhampton
- Micheldever
- New Alresford
- North Boarhunt
- Old Alresford
- Otterbourne
- Owslebury
- Portsmouth *
- Segensworth
- Shawford
- Shedfield
- Shirrell Heath
- Soberton
- Soberton Heath
- Soldridge *
- South Wonston
- Southwick (Winchester)
- Sparsholt (Winchester)
- Sutton Scotney *
- Swanmore
- Twyford (Winchester)
- Upham *
- Waltham Chase
- Waterlooville *
- West Meon
- Westley
- Whiteley *
- Wickham
- Winchester
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Winchester.)
We have this list page for easy browsing of all built-up areas: List of all Built-up Areas in GB.
Railway Stations in Winchester
Winchester is served by a number of National Rail stations, providing rail connections to nearby towns, cities, and destinations across Great Britain. The railway stations listed below are located within the Winchester Local Authority District and are grouped by train operating company for clarity.
- South Western Railway ▸ Winchester (SO23 8TJ) ⁞ Botley (SO30 2DY) ⁞ Shawford (SO21 2AA) ⁞ Micheldever (SO21 3AP)
This is a district-level view only. For a complete list of all National Rail stations across Great Britain, see the UK National Rail Stations Directory.
Winchester compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Winchester compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Winchester has 16 electoral wards.
Winchester has a population of 135,632 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
Population and Migration Trends in Winchester
This chart shows the population trend for Winchester from 2015 to 2024. It provides a quick overview of whether the local authority is growing, stable, or declining over time, and helps set context for the migration patterns shown below.
Population change is influenced by natural change (births minus deaths) and migration. The net migration chart below focuses on migration, separating internal migration (moves within the UK) from international migration (moves to and from abroad). Positive values indicate net inflows, while negative values indicate net outflows. The rate labels (per 1,000 residents) help compare migration intensity across years, even when the population size changes.
More local statistics and data for Winchester can be found on the ONS statistics for Winchester.