Caring for our town - past, present and future

Registered Charity No 1000447

Basingstoke Heritage Society



The Local List is a list of buildings or structures of historic or local interest which the council hold and which can be used as supplementary planning guidance.  The council’s officers decide what buildings will be included, but it is up to communities to identify and nominate buildings or structures which they think should have this extra protection which listing will give them. This might be because a building is connected with a well-known person, or it may be a good example of a certain type of architecture, or designed by a significant architect. So, if a developer applies to demolish a building

and it is on the local list, there will be a bit more protection  against demolition.  Nominations for the list can be made by local societies such as the Basingstoke Heritage Society or by parish councils


This is one of the buildings which have got successfully on to the local list. It looks a bit unhappy in this photo but is actually a remain from the old Great Western Railway. Situated just north of the station it used to be stabling for the horses used by carriers of the railway. It took quite a bit of research to find this out, but it’s an important bit of both the town and railway history.


You may be surprised to see this railway bridge as a nominated structure, but this too has been accepted onto the local list. Why? Because the little holes (known as loop-holes) are part of second world war archaeology as this is when they were put into the parapet. There are similar ones on the Chapel Hill Bridge – this one is at Bunnian Place.

Locally Listed Buildings

The Basingstoke Heritage Society makes periodic nominations to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council for buildings to be added to the Local List of Buildings of Local Architectural or Historic Interest

The Borough Council first adopted the Local List of Buildings of Architectural or Historic Interest on 27 March 2007. This Local List now stands alongside the existing Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, which is managed by English Heritage and Central Government (see the listed buildings page of the Basingstoke & Deane website).

The quality of the historic environment is not just about listed buildings or conservation areas, although these are undeniably of vital importance and contribute significantly to the unique character of our area.  It is the larger number of unlisted historic buildings that reinforces local distinctiveness and a sense of place.

The Local List is intended to recognise these buildings so that they can be properly considered when development proposals are submitted to the Borough Council.

The Basingstoke Heritage Society are particularly interested in buildings in the Basingstoke Unparished Area. There are currently 82 buildings on the local list for this area. Buildings on the list include:


The Eli Lilly Building


Basingstoke Waterworks Pumping Station


Worting Road Cemetery Lodge


Viable Farmhouse


The White House in Winchester Road


Many of the older houses in Cliddesden Road


The Queens Arms Public House in Bunnian Place


Two stone milestones on the edge of Basingstoke


The two railway bridges crossing Chapel Hill and Bunnian Place


The New Inn Sarum Hill


Brinkletts House in Winchester Road  



Some of the more significant recent additions to this list include:


19th Century Detached House - 3 Vyne Road


WW2 Air Raid Shelters at Brinkletts – Winchester Road


Whiteditch Civil Defence Building & possible gas decomination unit – Sherborne Road


Soldiers Return Public House – Upper Sherborne Road   


The full list can be viewed by using the following link to the Basingstoke & Deane Brough Council web site.  

www.basingstoke.gov.uk/browse/environment-and-planning/conservation/locallist/list

Milestone near 235 Old Worting Road

19th Century Detached House - Vyne Road


Many of the town’s public houses are old  - the Queens Arms in Bunnian Place is noted as early as 1836, although this one(Poison but  previously The Castle) seems to date from about 1912. Although there have been alterations to the Castle, you can still see the stables by the car park and there’s evidence just up the black path of an earlier building. This one’s been nominated but isn’t on the list yet.

This pretty building is in Sarum Hill. It has had many different uses throughout its life. It began as the British School (Infants) and the foundation stone, still just about legible, was laid in 1873 by 6 year old Edith H Wallis, who was the youngest daughter of   Richard Wallis of Eastlands in London Road.  He was a Quaker and a joint founder of the firm Wallis and Steevens. This one isn’t on the list yet and may be under threat as it is in new ownership.


Another great pub – lots of improvements by brewers but has been here since the 1870s. it has good tile decoration.

These are just a few examples of buildings which have been nominated – others include pairs of Victorian villas in Sarum Hill, the White House where Pizza Express is, The Stag and Hounds pub, many of the Edwardian houses in Cliddesden Road and many more!


So please get involved. If there’s a building near you that you think ought to have the extra protection, then let us know by contacting Debbie Reavell on 473390 or Reavell@btinternet.com  Then, take a photo – you can do this without the owner’s permission provided that you don’t go onto their property. Buildings can be nominated and put onto the list without their owner’s consent, although normally owners will be happy that their home is of interest. For more

WW2 building at Whiteditch (Sherborne Road)