History of St.
Mary's Church, Old Basing, Hampshire by
David Nash Ford
O L
D
B A S I N G
Resting Place
of the Marquises of Winchester &
Dukes of Bolton
The parish church of St.
Mary in Basing is an ancient building
steeped in history. Though the church
we see today is largely 16th century in
date, there are glimpses of earlier
developments to be seen and the site
itself has a long pedigree stretching way
back into the mists of time.
The earliest definite
surviving mention of a church in Basing
comes from a 1077 record of the rights of
advowson owned by the Abbey of Mont St.
Michel at Basing Church and a second
dependent chapel in Basingstoke. This
patronage was confirmed nine years later
in King William I's national survey, the
Domesday Book:
Mont St. Michel holds
from the King 1 church with 1 hide and
the tithes of Basingstoke manor.
A priest; 2 villagers and
4 smallholders with 1 plough.
A mill at 20s; meadow, 2
acres.
In King Edward the
Confessor's reign, this had been held by
Queen Edith's private chaplain, Bishop
Walter of Hereford. If, as seems likely,
the entry refers to the greater church of
Basing rather than the lesser chapel in
Basingstoke, there would appear to have
been a church on the present site as far
back as Saxon times.
The oldest structural
features of the present building are the
early 12th century northern and southern
crossing arches under the tower. Some
believe these may date from as early as
1089 when, presumably, the Monks of Mont
St. Michel had the old wooden Saxon
building, rebuilt in stone. It appears to
have been a church of cruciform plan with
chancel and nave of the same dimensions
as those of today and transepts of the
same width as the present aisles. It has
been suggested that the eastern end may
have been apsidal in shape, necessitating
the positioning of the altar in a spot
much further west than at present. This
is indicated by the now blocked squint of
uncertain date near the tower-crossing.
The Norman monks held the
church and its rectory throughout the
12th century, and their position was
confirmed by Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of
Winchester in 1194. However, in 1233, the
advowson of Basing was purchased by
another Bishop of Winchester, Peter de
Rufibus. He was collecting churches for
the endowment of a new Augustinian priory
which he established at Selbourne the
following year. This gift was later
confirmed by the Pope himself. It may
have been at this time that some
additional building work, perhaps
cosmetic, was undertaken at Basing, for
the north door is of 13th century date,
though it is not in its original
position. Ten years after Selbourne took
on the running of the church, however, a
vicar was established at Basingstoke "to
serve the cure by himself and two other
chaplains ministering the Church of
Basingstoke; one to celebrate for the
living and the other for the dead".
The vicar was to find two other "fit
chaplains for Basing, who were to reside
in the house formerly occupied by the
vicar himself". This new
arrangement marked a reversal of status
for these two neighbouring villages and
Basingstoke's important quickly grew at
Basing's expense.
The following century saw
some decorative embellishments at Old
Basing Church with the laying of a floor
of glazed and decorated tiles, some of
which can now be seen in the north
chapel. In 1349, John de Port of nearby
Basing Castle, Lord of the local Manor,
added his free chapel of St. Michael
(within the Castle) to the possessions of
the canons of Selbourne. The dedication
to St. Michael of both this chapel and
that at Basingstoke shows the influence
of Mont St. Michel and may betray the
original dedication of Basing Church
itself. The many church dedications to
the Virgin Mary in North-East Hampshire
are thought to have been desperate
rededications during the plague years of
the late 1340s, when at least three of
Basing's incumbents died in quick
succession. It was hoped that the Virgin
would thus intercede on behalf of the
disease-threatened parishioners. Perhaps
there were similar motives behind De
Port's gift.
In 1486, Selbourne Priory
was dissolved and the advowson of Basing
passed to Magdalen College, Oxford. This
may have precipitated in further
constructions at the church, for the
present east window and much of the
eastern wall of the chancel is certainly
of 15th century date. Not long afterward,
perhaps due to the distance of the new
patrons, the Paulet Lords of the Manor
(heirs of the De Ports) appear to have
begun to take a great interest in Old
Basing Church. An inscription over the
eastern arcade of the north aisle
declares (in Latin) that "To
praise Christ and Mary, his mother, by
John Paulet, Knight, this work was
completed AD 1519". The south
aisle and rebuilding of the nave are of
similar date and, as Sir John's coat of
arms appears beneath the statue of the
Virgin Mary on the outer gable of the
latter, it would seem that all three were
erected at the same time. Sir John
actually died the year the inscription
was raised, leaving unfinished his
endowment for a chantry chapel to the
north of the chancel at Basing. It was
probably completed within the next five
years along with monuments to himself and
his parents flanking its entrance.
Sir John's son, Sir William
Paulet, was a man of great wealth and
standing in England, during the turbulent
reigns of four highly demanding monarchs.
He rose through numerous positions in the
Royal household to eventually become Lord
High Treasurer of England. For his
services to the Crown, he was made Lord
St. John of Basing in 1539, Earl of
Wiltshire ten years later and Marquis of
Winchester in 1551. There were several
Royal visits to Basing Castle. Perhaps
the monarchy attended services at the
parish church as well. By this time, the
Marquis' major rebuilding works at Basing
Castle (now transformed into Basing
House) may have been largely complete;
whereupon, he turned his attentions to
the parish church. The rood screen with
its minstrels' loft (the stairway of
which can be seen south-east tower pier)
may already have been taken down. Now the
Marquis undertook more drastic
endeavours. He erected a large chapel,
the Bolton Chapel (named after his
descendants, the Dukes of Bolton), on the
south side of the chancel as a fitting
resting-place for himself and his heirs.
There is a fine monument to the Marquis
adjoining the high-altar, with a second,
presumed to be for his son, making the
pair mirror those of William's father and
grandfather opposite. Both are finely
decorated with renaissance friezes and
once highly coloured coats of arms
proclaiming their proud ancestry.
Portrait busts, believed to be of the
Marquis and his first wife, can be seen
flanking the second buttress on the
outside wall.
During the Civil War of the
following century, Basing village became
the reluctant home to many regiments of
parliamentary soldiers, as the famous
three year siege of Basing House
unfolded. There was much destruction, as
can be imagined, and the zealous puritans
did not spare the church or its monuments
to the family of the soldiers' 'Popish'
enemy, the 5th Marquis of Winchester.
Their graffiti can still be seen. The
Paulet arms and their antelopine
supporters were smashed and saints torn
down from their niches. The family vault
was broken into and the bones of the dead
strewn across the floor; the great lead
coffins being melted down and used for
bullets. It is unlikely that the Paulet
monuments ever had brasses or effigies
but, if they did, these were completely
destroyed. Only the statue of the Virgin
Mary survived on the outer western gable
of the nave. Tradition says it was hidden
by a covering of ivy. To add insult to
injury, the Roundhead soldiers made the
church their stables, with row upon row
of horses sheltering in the aisles!
Bullet holes and other damage can be seen
across the church's facade. Particularly
notable is the large breech (later filled
with bricks - no doubt from Basing House)
beneath the west window of the south
aisle.
At the restoration, the
building was in such a poor state that
there was a National appeal for the
relief and restoration of 'Desolate
Basing Church,' headed by Lord Chancellor
Clarendon. During the war, it was said to
have been "demolished, the seats
and pulpits burned and bells and other
ornaments plundered and taken away, the
window ledges used as breastworks with
firing platforms beneath them; the walls
had been breached and the lead roofs
disappeared." Indeed, the bells
are traditionally said to have been given
to several of the surrounding parish
churches. Luckily, donations of money and
more substantial forms of help appear to
have been forthcoming, for the Basing
Church was soon patched up - at some
points in a rather grand manner. For the
baroque style west door was inserted from
designs attributed to Inigo Jones. During
the war, this famous architect had sought
refuge within the defences of Basing
House and later, possibly during early restoration work, he was staying at
Hackwood Park with the 5th Marquis' son,
now the 1st Duke of Bolton.
Over the following
centuries, life seems to have been
relatively quite for Basing and its
church. The Dukes of Bolton continued to
patronise the place and the family burial
vault was brought back into use. Several
additions from the 17th or 18th centuries
have since been swept away by a number of
Victorian restorations: amongst them, the
singing gallery from the west end of the
nave and the southern church porch. The
church was, however, made much lighter at
this time, with the unblocking of several
windows. During a major restoration (or
desecration) at St. Michael's,
Basingstoke in 1840, Basing acquired its
beautifully carved Jacobean pulpit, and
probably the ancient font too. Another
major fitting arrived in 1878 with the
erection, in situ, of the present organ,
replacing a smaller version in the nave.
During the mid-19th century, activity at
the church was increased, not only by
restoration work, but by the conversion
of the Bolton Chapel to a schoolroom for
local boys. This only lasted until 1868,
when a proper village school was built.
At around the same time (1864) the
ecclesiastical parish of Basing was
finally split from Basingstoke and the
church acquired its own unshared vicar.
Internal
Tour of Old Basing Church
External
Tour of Old Basing Church
Old
Basing Church: A Description in 1843
Where is Old Basing Church?
...............................................................
Bio: David Ford grew up in
North-East Hampshire and has always been
fascinated by the history of the local
area. Old Basing Church holds a special
interest as many of his ancestors are
buried in the adjoining churchyard.
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