Basing House was a major Tudor

Tudor architecture

The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 palace

Palace

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

 and castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in the village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 of Old Basing

Old Basing

Old Basing is a village in the north-east of the English county of Hampshire. It is situated just to the east of Basingstoke, and in the 2001 census had a population of 7,232...

 in 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...

 county of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. It once rivaled Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...

 in its size and opulence. Today only its foundations and earthworks remain. The ruins are a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

.

History

Basing House was built from 1531 as a new palace for William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester

William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester

Sir William Paulet was an English Secretary of State and statesman who attained several peerages throughout his lifetime: Baron St John , Earl of Wiltshire , and Marquess of Winchester .-Family origins and early career in Hampshire:William Paulet was eldest son of Sir John Paulet of...

, treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

 to King Edward VI

Edward VI of England

Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

.

In its final form, Basing House was made up of two linked houses. The Old House replaced the keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

 of an older motte-and-bailey

Motte-and-bailey

A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...

 castle, so was located within a defensive ring of earthworks and walls, whilst the slightly later New House was located outside the defences. A bridge and gateway linked the two across and through the defences; a link that was to prove fatal in the final battle for Basing House. Taken together, the house had 360 rooms, was five storeys high and was considered by many to be the greatest private house in the country.

For the first half of the 1630s the house was shut up, the windows boarded over, and the family decamped to other houses held by the family. The 4th Marquess' entertainments almost bankrupted the family, maintenance of the house fell behind, and the design of such a large brick built (and somewhat experimental) complex after one hundred years had it's problems with dry and wet rot, broken windows, leaking roofs, and keeping the various wings heated. On taking the title the 5th Marquess down-sized, moved the family out, and waited until returns from the extensive estates all over England allowed him to start restorations later in the decade.
At the time of the outbreak of the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 in 1642, Basing House belonged to John Paulet

John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester

John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester , styled Lord John Paulet until 1621 and Lord St John from 1621 to 1628 was third but eldest surviving son of William Paulet and his successor as 5th Marquess of Winchester....

, the fifth Marquis of Winchester, who was a supporter of King Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

. As a consequence, parliamentary forces invested Basing House

Siege of Basing House

The siege of Basing House near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was a Parliamentarian victory late in the First English Civil War. Whereas the title of the event may suggest a single siege, there were in fact three major engagements...

 on three different occasions, with the Royalists successfully breaking the first two sieges.

The final siege started in August 1645 when Colonel John Dalbier

John Dalbier

John Dalbier , was a professional army officer who served various English commanders before and during the English Civil War in which he served in both the Parliamentary and Royalist armies.-In service of Count Ernst von Mansfeld :...

, with 800 troops, took up position around the walls. The garrison held out, despite further reinforcements to the attacking force, until Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 arrived with a heavy siege-train. By October 13, 1645, the New House had been taken and the defences of the Old House breached. The final storming took place across the link from the New House. Many valuable goods were carried off and a fire destroyed the building. Like other houses and castles destroyed at the time dressed stone was sold off at auction. Local villagers were encouraged to replace wattle and daub panels in their houses with bricks from the house, or to build new houses in brick.

John Paulet had his estates confiscated and was sent to the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

 on a charge of high treason, although these charges were later dropped, and the site of Basing House returned to him by King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

. His son Charles Paulet

Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton

Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, PC , son of John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester. He became the sixth Marquess of Winchester on his father's death in 1675, was Member of Parliament for Winchester and then for Hampshire from 1660 to 1675...

 became wealthy again as a consequence of his support for William of Orange

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

 during the Glorious Revolution

Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...

. This wealth was used to hack down what was left of Basing House and to build a new house at Hackwood.
The area on which the house stands has an unclear history from before the construction of the house

Location

Basing House is located in the village of Old Basing

Old Basing

Old Basing is a village in the north-east of the English county of Hampshire. It is situated just to the east of Basingstoke, and in the 2001 census had a population of 7,232...

, approximately one mile east of the centre of the town of Basingstoke

Basingstoke

Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...

, in the north of 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...

 county of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. The house is situated close to the upper reaches of the River Loddon

River Loddon

The River Loddon is a river in the English counties of Berkshire and Hampshire. It is a tributary of the River Thames, rising within the urban area of Basingstoke and flowing to meet the Thames near the village of Wargrave...

. Because of congestion in Old Basing, the car park for the house is situated several hundred yards away and is accessed by an attractive riverside walk.

The route of the former Basingstoke Canal

Basingstoke Canal

The Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation....

also ran around Basing House and then through and around parts of Old Basing.

Access

The extensive ruins of Basing House, are open to the public. Entry to the House has been significantly altered, with a ticket office, coffee shop and exhibition in an Annex of the Great Barn, with visitors streamed into the site from the car park, via a short walk along the River Loddon. A UK Heritage Lottery Funded scheme has allowed significant upgrades for the visitor "experience" (including upgrades to paths and bridges for disabled access), and further renovations are scheduled for 2011/12.

A separate planned schedule for school trips is also available. Check the website for more details.

(2011) The ruins are open from 1 March to 31 October Saturdays to Thursdays from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. For more details see the Basing House web page in "External links" below.

External links

• Basing House – at Hampshire Country Council website
• The story of the Basing House siege
• Sir Stephen Hawkins Regiment of Foote Sealed Knot Regiment who perform an annual re-enactment of the siege of Basing House

• The Marquess of Winchesters Regiment of the English Civil War Society who reenact the regiment based at Basing House during the English Civil War.
• Time Team Search for the second Basing House Channel 4's Time Team's excavation of the Basing House area.