HAMPSHIRE

2 miles east of Basingstoke

Between Basing and Basingstoke there is a world of difference, and the boundary between the two worlds is the River Loddon. On the west bank the industrial sprawl of Basingstoke makes ever greater inroads into the countryside; 100 years ago it was a market town with a population of around 6,000; today it is a noisy, bustling urban complex with a population more than ten times as great. Across the river, by contrast, the village of Basing is a timeless haven of peace, protected by a conservation order as well as by its river frontier

It is a red-brick village, dotted with little gardens and set in tree-studded pastureland. All the bricks and tiles were locally made, but the kilns have been closed since the war. In The Street, in the heart of the village, is the Norman Church of St Mary, and a few hundred yards further on - set back from the road - is a fine 15th and 16th-century tithe barn with a recently restored roof.

The living beauty of the village is equalled by the ruined splendour of Basing House. Once one of the most magnificent mansions in the country, it was built in the 16th century by William Paulet, an important national figure during the reigns of six Tudor monarchs, from Henry VII to Elizabeth I. He was created Marquis of Winchester by Edward VI who appointed him Lord Treasurer of England, which office he continued to hold under the Catholic Mary and her Protestant sister Elizabeth I. When asked how he managed to keep office under these three very different monarchs, he said: ‘By being a willow, not an oak’ Unlike most great houses of the day, Basing House was not only a palatial home, but it was also heavily fortified. During the Civil War, Royalists held it against heavy odds from 1643 to 1645, when Cromwell himself, who had come over from Winchester, led the final assault The battered palace was then looted, and fire completed its ruin

The area defended during the siege was 20 acres, and 1½ miles in circumference. Completely intact is the 16th-century dovecot, with its interior of chalk bricks laid to make nesting places for 500 pigeons

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