 Other towns in the district are St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey.The population was 169,508 at the 2011 Census.Henry II, on his accession in 1154, declared all of Huntingdonshire a royal forest (i. e., reserved for hunting), but its favourable arable soil, with loam, light clay and gravel, hence good drainage, meant it was largely farmland by the 18th century.