In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Basing like this:
BASING, or Old Basing, a village and a parish in Basingstoke district, Hants. The village stands adjacent to the Basingstoke canal and the Southwestern rail way, 2 miles NW of Basingstoke; and has a post office, of the name of Old Basing, under Basingstoke. The parish includes also Water-End. Acres, 5,104. ...
Real property, £5,974. Pop., 1,193. Houses, 232. The property is all in one estate. Ethelred I. was defeated here, in 871, by the Danes. A very early castle, adjacent to the village, was held by the family of De Port from the Conquest till the time of Richard II.; passed then, by marriage, to the Poynings; and went, in the time of Henry VI., to the Paulets. Sir William Paulet, created Marquis of Winchester by Edward VI., rebuilt the castle in a style of great magnificence; and gave sumptuous entertainment in it to Queen Elizabeth. John, the fifth marquis, garrisoned it in defence of Charles I.; maintained it against a siege, by successive parliamentary leaders, during two years; and was eventually beaten by storm, under Cromwell's own leading, with results which made the place a ruin, and gave the victors about £200,000 worth of plunder. Only an ivy-clad gateway, and a few walls and mounds of the castle now remain; and even a subsequent but smaller mansion built near it, has passed away. Many balls, skeletons, and other relics of the conflict have been found; and a neighbouring field bears the name of Slaughter-close. Many ancient entrenchments are in the vicinity; and one, called Winklesbury Circle, about 1,100 feet in diameter, with a flint-formed vallum, was used by Cromwell as a surveying post preparatory to his attack. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Up-Nately, in the diocese of Winchester. Value, not reported. Patron, Magdalene College, Oxford. The church is late perpendicular; was repaired, in 1519, by Sir John Paulet; and contains tombs of the Paulets, including the six Dukes of Bolton, descendants of the fifth Marquis of Winchester. Charities, £51.
Basing through time
Basing is now part of Basingstoke and Deane district. Click here for graphs and data of how Basingstoke and Deane has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Basing itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Basing, in Basingstoke and Deane and Hampshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5181
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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