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Recent Achievements

Recent achievements by the Society include the following:

Stories of Basingstoke exhibition – April 2011

The Society mounted a month long exhibition in the Community Gallery of the Willis Museum describing the people who gave us our Heritage. A substantial number of wall panels were supported by a large collection of exhibits relating to the people featured. Visitors to the exhibition included descendents of John May, Alfred Milward, the Mussellwhite family and one of the WW1 soldiers who are buried at South View under a Commonwealth War Graves headstone.

Replacement Information Board provided for the Bronze Age Burial Mounds at Buckskin

Blue Plaque in memory of Sir Harold Gillies

Unveiled on 1 October by the Mayor of Basingstoke on the Clock Tower Building at Limes Park, Rooksdown. See link for further information about Sir Harold Gillies, known as the father of plastic surgery.

This information is taken from the Society Newsletter for October 2011 and from a letter to the Gazette from the Society Secretary.

Eastrop House Coach House & Stables Block

Succeeded in having application for demolition of these historical buildings rejected

The Soldiers Return Public House

Succeeded in having application for partial demolition rejected. See Press Report.

Blue Plaque at Audleys wood in memory of Viscount Gavin Turnbull Simonds

See extract article on Audleys Wood

Norn Hill Footbridges plaque traced and re-erected

This plaque which was erected in 1992 to record the construction of the Norn Hill footbridges was removed and “lost” by Network Rail as a result of some work they carried out on the bridges over the railway. After extensive pressure from the Society the plaque was re-located, refurbished and re-erected on the site.

Thornycroft Crane Gantry

Morrisons Supermarket is on the site of the famous Thornycroft vehicle construction factory. The previous owner of the site (Safeway) had a picture display regarding the site which was removed by Morrisons. The display has now been located and Morrisons have agreed to re-exhibit. Further Morrisons have agreed to label the moveable crane gantry displayed at the entrance to the site off the Ring Road.

Refurbishment of Blue Coat Boy statue in Cross Street

The brickwork was re-pointed and the explanatory panels with faded wording replaced

Who we are:

We are an independent registered charity, founded in 1989, dedicated to making Basingstoke a better and more interesting place. We currently have approximately 250 subscribing members

What is our main area of interest:

The town centre area of the Borough where residents have no Parish Councillors to represent them (with particular emphasis on the six conservation areas) and any surrounding area likely to impact on the town

What we do:

Review planning applications and provide comments to the Council

Campaign for the protection of areas and buildings of historical significance

Nominate significant buildings for local listing

Lobby the appropriate authorities on matters of concern

Maintain a specific overview of activities within the Conservation areas.

Maintain an interest in the town’s trees and support the Tree Wardens

Install commemorative blue plaques to mark places of historical interest

Educate and inform the people of the town by offering talks by Society members to other local organisations

Review matters of concern submitted by Members

Mount special exhibitions such as the Heritage Open Day at the Holy Ghost Cemetery in September 2009 and the “Stories of Basingstoke – the people who gave us our Heritage” Exhibition in the Community Gallery at the Willis in 2011.

Arrange relevant talks, walks and visits for the benefit of members.

Contribute to the National Heritage weekends

Support appropriate local initiatives by other organisations

Publish relevant material in support of our area of interest – see Town Trail

Maintain photographic records of buildings and locations

Nature of Meetings:

Our monthly meetings take the form of a Business Meeting at which we:

review the latest relevant planning applications submitted to Basingstoke & Deane Planning Dept,

develop ideas for future commemorative plaques,

develop plans for future special events and deal with all other matters which come within our area of interest as laid down by our constitution.

A number of admin matters such as reports from certain Officers are briefly dealt with at these meetings to avoid the need for separate Committee meetings.

ALL members are welcome to attend all these meetings.

Membership Information

If a Basingstoke resident why not Join us? - We need your support

Help us by joining the Basingstoke Heritage Society today.

Annual subscription - £5.00

(60+ and under 18’s - £3.00)

Additional members of the family at the same address - only £1.00 each.

Membership Benefits:

· Quarterly Newsletter

· Occasional free talks, walks and visits to places of local interest

· Opportunity Freedom to attend the Society’s monthly Business Meetings & make views known

· Opportunity to contribute to submissions on issues of concern

· Support the protection of your locality from inappropriate development

Download an application form here.

Conservation Areas

There are now more than 40 Conservation Areas in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane, which are listed on the Conservation Area Appraisals page of the Basingstoke & Deane website.

This is the largest number for any single district in Hampshire, demonstrating just how rich the historic environment of the borough is.

The six Conservation Areas within the Unparished Area of Basingstoke are:

Basingstoke Town

Brookvale West

Fairfields

Park Prewett

South View

Worting

Installed in November. See link for Press Report on Buckskin Burial Mounds

A Short History of Basingstoke

Basingstoke is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The parish church of St Michael already existed and the town had a market and 3 mills. In 1214 market day was fixed by royal charter to take place on a Wednesday and has been so ever since. The town probably originally grew up near the Church and River Loddon, but its centre moved up the hill to where the main route from London to Southampton and the West Country was. The town’s earlier Moot Hall and the later Town Hall (now the Willis Museum) were built where Church Street met London Street.

During the English Civil War 1642-1648, Basing House was besieged for several years until, in 1645, Oliver Cromwell himself turned up to finalize the matter. He stayed in the Falcon Inn in London Street, roughly where The Light Lounge is today. When the house fell on 14 October 1645 the Marquis of Winchester, the owner of Royalist stronghold Basing House, was imprisoned in the cellars of the Bell Inn opposite, today a bank. Cromwell ordered that the house should be ‘totally slighted and demolished’ and indeed it was.

Basingstoke is a town where many roads meet and it became an important town for the coaching trade with its heyday in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Inns such as the George (now Zizzi’s), the Red Lion and others were all places where travellers and carriers changed horses at all hours of the day and night. Grazing and fodder for horses required lots of grass – most of the area known as Fairfields would have been used for this purpose.

The Basingstoke Canal opened in 1796 and carried all kinds of goods and even passengers to London. This permitted the development of foundries, the most famous and lasting of which became the firm of Wallis and Stevens. When the railway arrived in 1839 the company, which was well-known for its ‘Advance’ road rollers, was located on Station Hill.

Jane Austen 1775-1817, whose father was rector at nearby Steventon, danced at Assemblies held in the town, either in the town hall, roughly where Lloyds TSB is today or behind Barclays Bank in the Market Place, where an inn called The Angel had an assembly room.

Thomas Hardy put Basingstoke literally onto his map of Wessex, inventing the name Stoke Barehills for the town. In Jude the Obscure he writes about the railway, which was a junction for the LSWR line from London and the GWR from Reading. There were two separate stations each with a different gauge. The GWR station was on the north side of where the station is today, close to the Great Western Railway pub.

On 31 October 1961 an agreement was signed to expand the town and to provide 11,500 homes for families from London. Basingstoke’s expansion was on. Today the town has an excellent shopping centre and a concert hall to be proud of. A long way from the 1871 population of 5574!!

You can find out more from a unique DVD ‘The Story of Basingstoke’ which you can buy for £10 from the Friends of the Willis Museum. Listen for ninety minutes to world famous, Basingstoke born, cricket commentator John Arlott telling how our town evolved from prehistoric times illustrated by 200 brilliant colour photos taken before demolition started. Made by local historian Derek Wren as a slide/tape show in 1964, it has been remade as a DVD and the story brought up to date. You can purchase the DVD at the Willis Museum, at Milestones and Waterstones in Festival Place, or by contacting The Friends through their web site or by ringing their Treasurer on 01256 473947.

There is more specific detailed historical information available on this web site by following the links to the History or Buildings sections

Buildings History
Press Coverage Conservation Areas
Newsletter Library Contact us

Registered Charity No 1000447