Basildon, Berkshire
Encyclopedia
Basildon is a civil parish in the English
county of Berkshire
. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon
and Lower Basildon
, named for their respective heights above the River Thames
. Basildon is 7 miles (11 km) from Reading, 47 miles (76 km) from London and 20 miles (32 km) from Oxford.
The parish is bordered to the north by the River Thames
and the Oxfordshire
parishes of Goring
and Whitchurch-on-Thames
on the other side of the river. To the south of the river it is bordered by the parishes of Pangbourne
, Bradfield
, Ashampstead
and Streatley
.
The parish forms part of the unitary authority
of West Berkshire
. It is within the Newbury parliamentary constituency
.
The National Trust
property of Basildon Park
, built by John Carr
of York between 1777 and 1783 for Sir Francis Sykes
, one of the East India nabob
s, is situated between Lower Basildon and Upper Basildon.
Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens
is located between Basildon Park and the River Thames.
The parish has
two churches. The Grade I listed St Bartholomew's Church
in
Lower Basildon dates
from the 13th Century
and is now owned and maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust
.The churchyard
is notable as the resting place of Jethro Tull
, the 18th century agriculturalist, whose modern gravestone can be seen there.
St. Stephen’sin Upper
Basildon was built in 1965. This replaced the
temporary place of worship, located on the corner
of Bethesda Street and Blandy’s Lane, which was
built in 1895.
The parish has
three public houses.
In Upper Basildon,
the Red Lion and
the Beehive each
offer fine pub food
in addition to local
beers. The Tamarind
Tree in Lower Basildon
specialises in Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.
Basildon Primary School,founded in 1875, is
located in Upper Basildon and provides education
for about 140 children. Secondary education
is provided primarily by Theale Green School, 6 miles away in Theale,
although an increasing number of parents are
choosing the provision offered by local independent schoolssuch as Bradfield
, and St Andrew's
.
A Theale and The Downs bus service runs through the parish.
remains are two sections of the Bronze Age Grim's Ditch
(circa 2,400 BC). The Romans
also left their mark, building a road through Basildon running from Silchester
to Dorchester-on-Thames. A wealthy Roman or Romano-British
citizen also built a villa and farm beside the Roman road, but it was destroyed in 1838, when building Brunel's Great Western Railway
.
On the frontier between Wessex
and Mercia
,
Basildon was attacked and destroyed twice by
the Mercians and Danes
in the 9th and early
11th centuries. It was destroyed again by the
Normans
in 1066, when the bulk of the
army crossed the Thames at Streatley
after the
Battle of Hastings
. The ancient manor
of Basildon comprised the present-day civil parishes of Basildon and Ashampstead
and is mentioned in the Domesday Book
of 1086 as Bastedene. It was an important royal manor at the time of the Norman Conquest
with a female Lord of the Manor
.
In the 12th century it was
caught up in the Civil War between Stephen
and Matilda
, whilst in 1349 the population was
decimated by the Black Death
.
Thereafter the Parish remained relatively
undisturbed and slowly grew prosperous. By
the 17th century it was the seat of the Fane
family, who subsequently built the Grotto
near the Thames in Lower Basildon. It was
also the birthplace (1674) and last resting place in
1741 of Jethro Tull
, the agriculturist. In 1770
Francis Sykes
, who had made his fortune in
India, acquired the Basildon Estate and built
the House, which stands today. His grandson
dissipated his fortune and so mistreated his
wife that he ended up caricatured as Bill Sikes
in Charles Dickens
’s Oliver Twist
.
In 1838 Sykes sold the Estate to businessman, James Morrison
, and the Morrison family
held the Estate until 1929. The Morrison family
had many interests including an art collection which included works by Constable
, Da Vinci
, Hogarth
, Holbein
, Poussin
, Rembrandt, Reynolds
, Rubens
, Titian
, Turner and Van Dyck.
Part of the remains of their valuable collection hang
at Sudeley Castle
in Gloucestershire
, where
their descendants live. JMW Turner
is known to have stayed at Basildon Park and
in 1844 he painted “Rain, Steam and Speed”, showing the GWR
and Basildon Railway Bridge,
which stands in the valley below the House.
The British stationery
company, Basildon Bond founded in 1911, is named after Basildon, taking its name when some of the directors fell to liking the alliteration of "Basildon" and "bond
" whilst holidaying at Basildon Park, at the time Major James Archibald Morrison
's estate (between 1910 and 1929 when he sold it to Sir Edward Iliffe
).
, the English
agricultural
pioneer who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution
.
Five Basildonians are entered in the Dictionary of National Biography
. These are Jethro Tull, mentioned above, Sir Francis Sykes
, James Morrison
who bought the Isle of Islay
in 1854 for nearly half a million pounds, and his elder son Charles, and Captain Allen Francis Gardiner
, the missionary pioneer, who started the first missionary station at Port Natal, Zululand
and co-founded the City of Durban
in South Africa
.
Other notable Basildonians include:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. It comprises the small villages of Upper Basildon
Upper Basildon
Upper Basildon is a small village in the civil parish of Basildon, near to Pangbourne, in the English county of Berkshire. It has a church, dedicated to St. Stephen, built in 1964 in the shape of the Christian secret symbol of a fish.-External links:*...
and Lower Basildon
Lower Basildon
Lower Basildon is a small village in the civil parish of Basildon, near to Pangbourne, in the English county of Berkshire. It is the location of the parish church of St Bartholomew. The National Trust property, Basildon Park, is just above it....
, named for their respective heights above the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. Basildon is 7 miles (11 km) from Reading, 47 miles (76 km) from London and 20 miles (32 km) from Oxford.
The parish is bordered to the north by the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and the Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
parishes of Goring
Goring-On-Thames
Goring-on-Thames is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, about south of Wallingford.-Geography:...
and Whitchurch-on-Thames
Whitchurch-on-Thames
Whitchurch-on-Thames is a village and civil parish on the Oxfordshire bank of the River Thames, about northwest of Reading, Berkshire. Opposite Whitchurch on the Berkshire bank is the village of Pangbourne.-History:...
on the other side of the river. To the south of the river it is bordered by the parishes of Pangbourne
Pangbourne
Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. Pangbourne is the home of the independent school, Pangbourne College.-Location:...
, Bradfield
Bradfield, Berkshire
Bradfield is a small village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The parish also includes the now rather larger village of Bradfield Southend, and the hamlet of Tutts Clump....
, Ashampstead
Ashampstead
Ashampstead is a small village and civil parish in the rural area between Reading, Newbury and Streatley in Berkshire. The parish population is about 400, occupying some 150 dwellings.-History:...
and Streatley
Streatley, Berkshire
Streatley is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England.-Location:Streatley is about from Reading and from Oxford. It is in the Goring Gap on the River Thames and is directly across the river from the Oxfordshire village of Goring-on-Thames...
.
The parish forms part of the unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
of West Berkshire
West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...
. It is within the Newbury parliamentary constituency
Newbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Newbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returns one Member of Parliament , elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
.
The National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property of Basildon Park
Basildon Park
Basildon Park is a country house situated 3 kilometres south of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building...
, built by John Carr
John Carr
John Carr was a prolific English architect. He was born in Horbury, near Wakefield, England, the eldest of nine children and the son of a master mason, under whom he trained. He started an independent career in 1748 and continued until shortly before his death. John Carr was Lord Mayor of York in...
of York between 1777 and 1783 for Sir Francis Sykes
Francis Sykes
Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet was an English landowner, Member of Parliament and sometime Governor of Kasimbazar in India, being styled an English nabob by his peers....
, one of the East India nabob
Nabob
A nabob, an English form of "nawab", is a merchant-leader of high social status and wealth.Nabob may also refer to:*Nabob , a brand of coffee in Canada*HMS Nabob , a Bogue-class escort aircraft carrier...
s, is situated between Lower Basildon and Upper Basildon.
Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens
Beale Park
Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens is situated by the River Thames, between the villages of Pangbourne and Lower Basildon in Berkshire, England. It has three main areas of attraction: collections of small exotic animals, farm animals and birds; landscaped gardens and woodlands; and children's play...
is located between Basildon Park and the River Thames.
The parish has
two churches. The Grade I listed St Bartholomew's Church
St Bartholomew's Church, Lower Basildon
St Bartholomew's Church is the redundant Church of England parish church of Basildon in the English county of Berkshire. It is located in the hamlet of Lower Basildon and is now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust...
in
Lower Basildon dates
from the 13th Century
and is now owned and maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
.The churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
is notable as the resting place of Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (agriculturist)
Jethro Tull was an English agricultural pioneer who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution. He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill in 1701 that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows, and later a horse-drawn hoe...
, the 18th century agriculturalist, whose modern gravestone can be seen there.
St. Stephen’sin Upper
Basildon was built in 1965. This replaced the
temporary place of worship, located on the corner
of Bethesda Street and Blandy’s Lane, which was
built in 1895.
The parish has
three public houses.
In Upper Basildon,
the Red Lion and
the Beehive each
offer fine pub food
in addition to local
beers. The Tamarind
Tree in Lower Basildon
specialises in Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.
Basildon Primary School,founded in 1875, is
located in Upper Basildon and provides education
for about 140 children. Secondary education
is provided primarily by Theale Green School, 6 miles away in Theale,
although an increasing number of parents are
choosing the provision offered by local independent schoolssuch as Bradfield
Bradfield College
Bradfield College is a coeducational independent school located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire.The college was founded in 1850 by Thomas Stevens, Rector and Lord of the Manor of Bradfield...
, and St Andrew's
St Andrew's School, Pangbourne
St Andrew's School is an independent preparatory school in the hamlet of Buckhold, near Pangbourne, Berkshire, England.-History:The school was founded in 1934 as a boarding school for boys...
.
A Theale and The Downs bus service runs through the parish.
History
Human presence in Basildon dates over 500,000 years, as witness the flint axes that have been found, but the earliest physicalremains are two sections of the Bronze Age Grim's Ditch
Grim's Ditch
Grim's Ditch, Grim's Dyke or Grim's Bank is a name shared by a number of prehistoric bank and ditch earthworks...
(circa 2,400 BC). The Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
also left their mark, building a road through Basildon running from Silchester
Silchester
Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading....
to Dorchester-on-Thames. A wealthy Roman or Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
citizen also built a villa and farm beside the Roman road, but it was destroyed in 1838, when building Brunel's Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
.
On the frontier between Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
and Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
,
Basildon was attacked and destroyed twice by
the Mercians and Danes
Danes
Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...
in the 9th and early
11th centuries. It was destroyed again by the
Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in 1066, when the bulk of the
army crossed the Thames at Streatley
Streatley
Streatley may refer to:* Streatley, Bedfordshire, England* Streatley, Berkshire, England...
after the
Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
. The ancient manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Basildon comprised the present-day civil parishes of Basildon and Ashampstead
Ashampstead
Ashampstead is a small village and civil parish in the rural area between Reading, Newbury and Streatley in Berkshire. The parish population is about 400, occupying some 150 dwellings.-History:...
and is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Bastedene. It was an important royal manor at the time of the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
with a female Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
.
In the 12th century it was
caught up in the Civil War between Stephen
and Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
, whilst in 1349 the population was
decimated by the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
.
Thereafter the Parish remained relatively
undisturbed and slowly grew prosperous. By
the 17th century it was the seat of the Fane
Sir Henry Fane
Sir Henry Fane KB, JP was the only son and heir of George Fane of Hatton Garden, by his wife Dorothy daughter and heir of James Horsey of Honnington, Warwickshire....
family, who subsequently built the Grotto
near the Thames in Lower Basildon. It was
also the birthplace (1674) and last resting place in
1741 of Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (agriculturist)
Jethro Tull was an English agricultural pioneer who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution. He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill in 1701 that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows, and later a horse-drawn hoe...
, the agriculturist. In 1770
Francis Sykes
Francis Sykes
Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet was an English landowner, Member of Parliament and sometime Governor of Kasimbazar in India, being styled an English nabob by his peers....
, who had made his fortune in
India, acquired the Basildon Estate and built
the House, which stands today. His grandson
dissipated his fortune and so mistreated his
wife that he ended up caricatured as Bill Sikes
in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
’s Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
.
In 1838 Sykes sold the Estate to businessman, James Morrison
James Morrison (businessman)
James Morrison was a British millionaire businessman and Member of Parliament.Alternatively he was born in 1790, probably at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, and died 30 October 1857 at Basildon, Berkshire possessed of property in England valued at between three and four million pounds,...
, and the Morrison family
held the Estate until 1929. The Morrison family
had many interests including an art collection which included works by Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
, Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
, Holbein
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
, Poussin
Poussin
Poussin refers to:*Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin Belgian mathematician*Charles-Louis-Joseph-Xavier de la Vallée-Poussin Belgian geologist and mineralogist, father of Charles Jean*Nicolas Poussin , French painter...
, Rembrandt, Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
, Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Turner and Van Dyck.
Part of the remains of their valuable collection hang
at Sudeley Castle
Sudeley Castle
Sudeley Castle is a castle located near Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. It dates from the 10th century, but the inhabited portion is chiefly Elizabethan. The castle has a notable garden, which is designed and maintained to a very high standard. The chapel, St. Mary's Sudeley, is the burial...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, where
their descendants live. JMW Turner
is known to have stayed at Basildon Park and
in 1844 he painted “Rain, Steam and Speed”, showing the GWR
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and Basildon Railway Bridge,
which stands in the valley below the House.
The British stationery
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
company, Basildon Bond founded in 1911, is named after Basildon, taking its name when some of the directors fell to liking the alliteration of "Basildon" and "bond
Bond paper
Bond paper is a high quality durable writing paper similar to bank paper but having a weight greater than 50 g/m2. The name comes from it having originally been made for documents such as government bonds. It is now used for letterheads, other stationery and as paper for electronic printers...
" whilst holidaying at Basildon Park, at the time Major James Archibald Morrison
James Archibald Morrison
Major James Archibald Morrison DSO was a British Conservative Party politician.Morrison was the son of Alfred Morrison, of Fonthill Houseand the grandson of James Morrison ....
's estate (between 1910 and 1929 when he sold it to Sir Edward Iliffe
Edward Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe
Edward Mauger Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe , was a British newspaper magnate, public servant and Conservative Member of Parliament.Iliffe was the son of William Isaac Iliffe, a publisher and Justice of the Peace, of Allesley near Coventry...
).
Notable Basildonians
Basildon is the birthplace (1674) and burial place (1714) of Jethro TullJethro Tull (agriculturist)
Jethro Tull was an English agricultural pioneer who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution. He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill in 1701 that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows, and later a horse-drawn hoe...
, the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
pioneer who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution
British Agricultural Revolution
British Agricultural Revolution describes a period of development in Britain between the 17th century and the end of the 19th century, which saw an epoch-making increase in agricultural productivity and net output. This in turn supported unprecedented population growth, freeing up a significant...
.
Five Basildonians are entered in the Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
. These are Jethro Tull, mentioned above, Sir Francis Sykes
Francis Sykes
Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet was an English landowner, Member of Parliament and sometime Governor of Kasimbazar in India, being styled an English nabob by his peers....
, James Morrison
James Morrison (businessman)
James Morrison was a British millionaire businessman and Member of Parliament.Alternatively he was born in 1790, probably at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, and died 30 October 1857 at Basildon, Berkshire possessed of property in England valued at between three and four million pounds,...
who bought the Isle of Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
in 1854 for nearly half a million pounds, and his elder son Charles, and Captain Allen Francis Gardiner
Allen Francis Gardiner
Allen Francis Gardiner was a British Royal Navy officer and missionary to Patagonia.-Biography:Gardiner was the fifth son of Samuel Gardiner of Coombe Lodge, Oxfordshire, by Mary, daughter of Charles Boddam of Capel House, Bull's Cross, Enfield, Middlesex...
, the missionary pioneer, who started the first missionary station at Port Natal, Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
and co-founded the City of Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Other notable Basildonians include:
- John BuckeridgeJohn BuckeridgeJohn Buckeridge was an English churchman.He was a son of William Buckeridge of Basildon, Berkshire, but was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood and at St John's College, Oxford, his maternal grandfather being cousin to the founder, Sir Thomas White...
- Charles Fane, 1st Viscount Fane
- Charles Fane, 2nd Viscount FaneCharles Fane, 2nd Viscount FaneCharles Fane, 2nd Viscount Fane was a landowner in Ireland and England, a Whig Member of Parliament and the British Resident in Florence.-Early life:...
- George FaneGeorge FaneColonel George Fane DL, JP was the fifth but fourth surviving son of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland by his wife, Mary , daughter and heir of Sir Anthony Mildmay of Apethorpe, co. Northampton....
- Sir Henry FaneSir Henry FaneSir Henry Fane KB, JP was the only son and heir of George Fane of Hatton Garden, by his wife Dorothy daughter and heir of James Horsey of Honnington, Warwickshire....
- Elspeth HansonElspeth HansonElspeth Hanson is the violist of the all female string quartet, Bond.- Biography :Elspeth started learning the violin aged 12 and at 16 won a place as first violin with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain with whom she has toured the UK and played live at the BBC Proms.Previously she had...
- Langton Iliffe, 2nd Baron IliffeLangton Iliffe, 2nd Baron IliffeEdward Langton Iliffe, 2nd Baron Iliffe , generally known as Langton Illiffe, was a British peer. He was the son of Edward Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe and his wife, Charlotte, daughter of Henry Gilding....
- James Morrison (British politician), grandson of James MorrisonJames Morrison (businessman)James Morrison was a British millionaire businessman and Member of Parliament.Alternatively he was born in 1790, probably at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, and died 30 October 1857 at Basildon, Berkshire possessed of property in England valued at between three and four million pounds,...
, mentioned above - Dorothy Montagu, Countess of SandwichDorothy Montagu, Countess of SandwichDorothy Montagu, Countess of Sandwich , formerly The Hon. Dorothy Fane, was a British peeress.-Family and marriage:...