Everything about Basing totally explained
Old Basing is a
village and
civil parish 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. Its former name is Basing (which several neighbouring village signs highlight), and while Basingstoke has grown, the 'Old' seems to suit Basing well.
History
Old Basing was first settled around
700 by an
Anglo-Saxon tribe known as the
Basingas, who give the village its name. It was the site of the Battle of Basing on
January 22,
871 when a Danish Army defeated
Ethelred of Wessex. It is also mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086.
The centre of the village,
The Street, contains many old houses, and St Mary's Church. The
River Loddon, whose source is nearby, flows through the village, which is perhaps best known for the ruins of
Basing House which was built between 1532 and 1561 on the site of a
Norman castle. It was the home of the
Marquesses of Winchester for several generations before being destroyed after a 24 week siege during the
English Civil War.
Many names in modern Old Basing allude to the war, such as
Cavalier Road and
Muskett Copse as well as several sites named after
Oliver Cromwell including
Oliver's Battery,
Cromwell Cottage and award-winning fish and chip shop
Oliver's.
Education
Old Basing provides both an
infant school and a
junior school. The junior school, named St Mary's, is aided by the
Church of England. A new
primary school has recently opened in nearby
Lychpit. Children from Old Basing proceed to a variety of
secondary schools in the Basingstoke area.
Sport
Basing Rovers F.C. is the local football team, founded in 1886. The Recreation Ground in Old Basing plays host to a variety of sporting events as well as the Old Basing
Carnival. There are
rugby union and
football pitches which overlap a
cricket ground in addition to five
tennis courts (of which one is free), an
archery area and a
lawn bowling green.
Local politics
Old Basing elects three
councillors to
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and is part of the Basingstoke
constituency in elections to
Parliament.
The current
Member of Parliament for Basingstoke is
Maria Miller (
Conservative) and the current councillors are Patricia Read (
LibDem), Stephen Marks (Conservative) and Sven Godesen (Conservative).
Literature
Edward Lear makes reference to Old Basing in his
Book of Nonsense of
1846 (number 37):
"There was an Old Person of Basing,
Whose presence of mind was amazing;
He purchased a steed,
Which he rode at full speed,
And escaped from the people of Basing."
Further Information
Get more info on 'Basing'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://old_basing.totallyexplained.com">Old Basing Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
