Description

SU 6652 OLD BASING BASING HOUSE
6653
22/66
26.4.57 Basing House Ruins,
including the Old House
and the New House

II

C12, C16. The site includes earthworks of a motte and bailey castle of Norman date,
the motte being a large circular area for the accommodation of buildings, surrounded by
a raised bank; to the south are outer defence mounds of the C17. After 1531, the motte
was completely redeveloped as a large residence (the Old House), the top of the rampart
on the outside having a brick wall and the inner side being lined with a series of
structures, the central space having a large hall, courts, and other buildings. What
survives is a complex of the lower parts of buildings, indicating cellars, kitchens
with fireplaces, circular staircases all built of red brick in English bond, with
several 4-centred chamfered arched openings. Only a short time later, the New House
was built, mainly on the outside and to the north-east of the original castle, in the
form of a series of rectangular structures around a central courtyard; what remains are
brick footings and a large well, the canal development of the late C18 having cut away
the outer parts. The footings of a large gateway mark the entrance to the Old House,
the approach being a bridge across the ditch between the original motte and bailey,
remaining as a painted brick arch. Throughout the area other base structures lie
hidden, including a tunnel from the Keep under the moat, on the west side. This
extensive fortified residence served as a strategic defence point during the Civil War,
being held for the King in a famous siege which ended in the storming of Basing House
by Cromwell in 1645. The area was later "slighted" and not rebuilt, its materials
(mainly Tudor bricks) being re-used in the construction of many of the village houses.
General protection is now given by the status of Ancient Monument, but the ancilliary
structure with substantial survival are treated as separate items.

Listing NGR: SU6613352592

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26385171

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)