Editing Old Basing (section)

== History ==
Old Basing was first settled in the sixth century by a proto-[[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] tribe known as the ''[[Basingas]]''. In the ninth century it was a royal estate and it was the site of the [[Battle of Basing]] on or about 22 January 871 AD, when a Viking army defeated King [[Æthelred of Wessex]] and his brother, the future King [[Alfred the Great]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Abels|title=Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England|year=1998|isbn=0-582-04047-7|publisher=Longman|location=Harlow, UK|page=131}}</ref> It is also mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 AD.

The centre of the village, ''The Street'', contains many old houses, and St Mary's Church. The [[River Loddon]], whose source is in [[Worting, Hampshire|Worting]] to the west of Basingstoke, flows through the village. Old Basing is perhaps best known for the ruins of [[Basing House]] which was built between 1532 and 1561 on the site of a [[Normans|Norman]] castle. It was the home of the [[Marquess of Winchester|Marquesses of Winchester]] for several generations before being destroyed after a 24-week siege during the [[English Civil War]]. Many names in modern Old Basing allude to the war, such as ''Cavalier Road'' and ''Musket Copse'', as well as several sites named after [[Oliver Cromwell]] including ''Oliver's Battery and''  ''Cromwell Cottage.'' ''Oliver's'', a fish and chip takeaway and restaurant is named after Les Oliver who opened the restaurant in 1974.

The route of the former [[Basingstoke Canal]] also ran around Basing House and then through and around parts of Old Basing.

In the 1980s, the [[Lychpit]] estate was developed to the north of the village, within the boundaries of the civil parish. In 2006, the name of the civil parish was changed to "Old Basing and Lychpit".