Place:Basing, Hampshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Basing is a village and fairly large civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane District of Hampshire. It is situated just to the east of Basingstoke, and in the 2001 UK census had a population of 7,232. Basing is the former name for the village (which several neighbouring village signs continue to highlight), but since 1974 it has been renamed "Old Basing" to differentiate it more from Basingstoke, its much larger neighbour.

The centre of the village, The Street, contains many old houses, and St Mary's Church. The River Loddon, whose source is in Worting to the west of Basingstoke, flows through the village. The village 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.

Since the formation of the Basingstoke and Deane District in 1974 Old Basing has been part of a ward titled Old Basing and Lychpit. Lychpit is on the edge of Basingstoke, but within the former parish of Basing. It was not found on old maps.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History of Hampshire, volume 4, chapter on Basing.
• GENUKI has a list of archive holders in Hampshire including the Hampshire Record Office, various museums in Portsmouth and Southhampton, the Isle of Wight Record Office and Archives.
• The Hampshire Online Parish Clerk project has a large collection of transcriptions from Parish Registers across Hampshire.
• A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 together with tables listing the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered, along with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. Do respect the copyright on this material.
• The three-storey City Museum in Winchester covers the Iron Age and Roman periods, the Middle Ages, and the Victorian period.
• Volumes in The Victoria County History Series are available for Hampshire through British History Online. There are three volumes and the county is covered by parishes within the old divisions of "hundreds".

A collection of maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrating the English county of Hampshire over the period 1832-1932 (the last two are expandible):

• The Hundreds of Hampshire, a map from HMSO Boundary Commissioners, dated 1832
• Hampshire showing parishes in their Rural Districts as of 1900, a map from the Ordnance Survey
• Hampshire showing parishes in their Rural Districts after the alterations of 1932, a map from the Ordnance Survey

• A group of maps of the post-1974 municipal districts or boroughs of Hampshire on Wikipedia Commons