Coordinates: 50°55′51″N 1°04′48″W / 50.9307°N 1.0799°W / 50.9307; -1.0799

Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about 15 miles (24 km) north of Portsmouth.

Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle of Cricket'. It is thought that Hambledon Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs known, was formed about 1750. Hambledon was England's leading cricket club from about 1765 until the formation of MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) in 1787.

The famous Bat and Ball Inn in Hyden Farm Lane, Clanfield is next to the historic cricket ground near Broadhalfpenny Down where the Hambledon club originally played. The inn was run by Richard Nyren, who was also captain of the club. The modern Hambledon Cricket Club's ground is at Ridge Meadow, about 0.5 miles (800 m) away.

Hambledon is a rural village surrounded by fields and woods. There are about 400 households with just under 1,000 residents. The nearest villages are Clanfield, Chidden and Denmead.

There is a school, Hambledon Infant School, recently rated as 'Outstanding' by Ofsted, and a parish church, St Peter's and St Paul's.

Hampshire (ⁱ/ˈhæmpʃɪər/ or /ˈhæmpʃər/; abbreviated Hants) is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the former capital city of England. Hampshire is the most populous ceremonial county in the United Kingdom and if excluding newly formed metropolitan counties such as the West Midlands, Hampshire would be the most populous county in the whole of the United Kingdom. Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. The ceremonial county borders Dorset to the west, Wiltshire to the north-west, Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, and West Sussex to the east. The southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and The Solent.

Hampshire is the largest county in South East England and the third largest shire county in the United Kingdom despite losing more land than any other English county during the Local Government Act 1972 boundary changes. At its greatest size in 1889, Hampshire was the fifth largest county in England. It now has an overall area of 3,700 square kilometres (1,400 sq mi), and measures approximately 86 kilometres (53 mi) east–west and 76 kilometres (47 mi) north–south.