Visited August 2024

Location	Nr. Basingstoke, Hampshire
Entrance Fee	Yes
Railway Station Nearby	Yes- Basingstoke- approx. 2.2miles
Parking	Yes
Facilities	Gift Shop, Toilets
Map

Basing House is now a ruin, but once upon a time it was one of the largest palaces in England, rivalling the size and splendour of Hampton Court. The Tudor palace was built onto the remains of an earlier castle, of which the foundations and associated earthworks survive today.

Review

The original castle was built in the 1100s by the de Port family, who came over from Normandy with the conquest of 1066. It fell into decline and was a ruin by the time William Paulet decided to build a grand mansion on top of the original castle remains in 1535. The elaborate castlellated property had 360 rooms and was one of the largest houses in England at the time. It was popular with visiting royals including Henry VIII, and later both his daughters- Mary I (honeymooned here with her husband Philip II of Spain) and Elizabeth I.

However, later members of the Paulet family could not afford the upkeep on the property and so they concentrated on maintaining certain parts of it and left the rest to its fate.

By the time of the Civil War it was still owned by the Paulets, and the current owner was John Paulet, 5th Marquis of Winchester. He was loyal to King Charles I. The house was garrisoned, and in 1645 it was attacked by the Parliamentarians. It took them almost two months, but they finally managed to breach the defensive walls of the property. It was completely destroyed by the ensuing battle and the fires left burning in the aftermath. 

Today the huge motte and the foundations of the house and castle are all that is left, together with the Great Barn, which managed to escape Civil War damage, except for one small area of artillery damage.

Now for practicalities. The car park is situated a short walk away at Barton Mills. The journey to the entrance takes you along the side of the river. The route is signposted but slightly confusing as you have to walk across the forecourt of the pub to reach the path but this is not obvious at first sight. Luckily there were plenty of people to ask directions the day we were there. 

You will then arrive at the Great Barn, which was where the food production and storage for Basing House was situated. It was built in the Tudor era from brick and is a rare survivor. It has an area set up with some children's activities, including how to build a herringbone brick wall, which was suprisingly difficult!

The visitors centre is also situated here- it has toilets and a gift shop and a small refreshments counter with drinks and snacks (not full hot meals)

From here it is another short walk to the main part of the site- including crossing a road (not a main road but still take care!) The entrance is through the original gateway, where you will be asked to show your ticket (purchased on-line or at the visitors centre)

On the main site is the motte and the remains of the castle/house, a small museum containing the history of the site and a knot garden which is an interpretation of the kind that might have been on the site in its heyday. There is lots of space here to run around, or have a picnic. The motte is accessed over a wooden bridge. There were some wooden walkways to give a view of the site from above, but these were closed due to safety concerns on the day we were there, as were the steps down into the foundations of the house.

The ruins are well worth a visit, and the only downside we found was that there was nowhere on the site to buy hot food. We actually had our own picnic, but were hoping to top it up with some more food once we got there. There are a couple of pubs in Old Basing village which serve food, aswell as Barton Mills in the Car Park, but we didn't try any of the food there so cannot recommend from personal experience.

More info:  Basing House