Basing House

Basing House was a major Tudor palace and castle in the village of Old Basing in the English county of Hampshire. It once rivaled Hampton Court Palace in its size and opulence. Today only its foundations and earthworks remain. The ruins are a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Basing House was built from 1531 as a new palace for William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester, treasurer to King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.

In its final form, Basing House was made up of two linked houses. The Old House replaced the keep of an older ringwork castle, so was located within a defensive ring of earthworks and walls, whilst the slightly later New House was located outside the defences. A bridge and gateway linked the two across and through the defences, a link that was to prove fatal in the final battle for Basing House. Taken together, the house had 360 rooms, was five storeys high and was considered by many to be the greatest private house in the country.

For the first half of the 1630s, the house was shut up and the windows boarded over, while the family decamped to other houses held by the family. The 4th Marquess' entertainments almost bankrupted the family, maintenance of the house fell behind, and the design of such a large brick built (and somewhat experimental) complex after one hundred years had its problems with dry and wet rot, broken windows, leaking roofs, and keeping the various wings heated. On taking the title the 5th Marquess down-sized, moved the family out, and waited until returns from the extensive estates all over England allowed him to start restorations later in the decade.

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