Along the country lanes of Old Basing lie the ruins of one of Tudor England’s largest private houses, Basing House. Today, all that remains of the 360 room, five storey high home is a collection of banks, ditches, cellars, walls and occasional surviving structures, including the majestic Great Barn.

Basing House was built as a castle in the 1100s by the de Port family, who came to Hampshire following the Norman invasion of 1066. The huge circular bank where the castle once stood is still visible today.

In 1535, the first Marquess of Winchester, Sir William Paulet, chose to build his new palace on the site. On completion, Basing House consisted of two linked houses; the Old House, a replacement for the castle keep, located within a defensive ring of walls, and the New House, built to accommodate the many people that accompanied royalty when they visited.

Later in 1535, the Great Barn, a storage and food processing area, was added. Built using more than a million bricks and tiles with a magnificent oak roof frame, it is one of the largest surviving examples of its kind in England. It is now a stunningly unique location for events, including weddings.

Basing House once rivalled Hampton Court Palace in its size and opulence and in its heyday was frequently visited by the monarch of the time, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, while Queen Mary I and Philip II of Spain honeymooned at the house in 1554 after their marriage in nearby Winchester.

Basing House, which is now operated by Hampshire Cultural Trust, is probably most well-known for the English Civil War sieges of the 1640s. The house, a Royalist garrison still owned by the loyal Paulet family, was attacked by Parliamentary troops on three occasions, the third of which came in August 1645 when 800 men took up position around the walls.

Despite further reinforcements to the attacking force, the garrison held out, until Oliver Cromwell himself arrived with heavy artillery. By October 13, 1645, the walls of the house had been breached and Cromwell stormed the site, resulting in many deaths, and left the property a burning ruin. Today, only the foundations of this once great house remain.

Visitors to Basing House can explore the ruins and step inside the Great Barn for themselves, while the tale of the Paulet family’s dedication to the Crown during the English Civil War is captured in the Knot Garden, the world ‘loyalty’ spelled out of topiary trees.