Basing House

The remains of the Basing House, once the country's largest private house and the palace of the powerful courtier William Paulet, Marquess of Winchester. The earthwork banks of the castle still dominate the ruins. The wealth and power of the Paulet family, their loyalty to the crown and nearness to London brought disaster to Basing in the Civil War. After long sieges and bombardments the House fell to Oliver Cromwell in person.

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  School visits
  Guided tours are offered to support the study of the Tudors and the Civil War. To book a visit to Basing House, please contact the site Manager.

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  To help understand the story and the beautiful but disturbed grounds, visitors can see an exhibition, join occasional guided tours, and watch period demonstrations.... walk through the re-created Jacobean Garden with its Tudor walls... view the story of Basing House exhibition and the tragic war which destroyed it.

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  There are medieval and Civil War earthworks - built in Norman times and which still made a powerful fortress in the Civil War five centuries later. See the The Old House - the foundations and cellars of the Tudor mansion as revealed by the archaeologists and the recently discovered remains of the north wing of the New House, long thought to have been destroyed.

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  Take a beautiful Riverside walk along the banks of the River Loddon, past the former manor fish ponds and visit the magnificent Tudor Great Barn. Cross the Canal Bridge over the old London to Basingstoke Canal. The navvies are said to have found treasure as they cut through the ruins 200 years ago.