Basing House restoration works

A Tudor palace, a site of importance for nature conservation, and hibernating bats

Aug 2 2023

Photographs of part of old repaired walls at Basing House, Hampshire.

The County Council’s Property Services team have recently completed restoration works to several historic features at Basing House. Owned by the County Council and run by the Hampshire Cultural Trust, Basing House is a Tudor Palace in Basingstoke that in its heyday, rivalled Hampton Court.

The focus of the work was Lord Bolton’s Field Wall and the Citadel Tunnel.

In a field named after the former owner of Basing House, the Lord Bolton, are the remains of a hunting lodge that he built, consisting of gate piers in a Grade II listed wall.

Our team undertook repair work to ‘Lord Bolton’s Field Wall’ and gate piers to help protect the original brickwork, whilst taking care to avoid rare species of wall flower such as fine-leaved sandwort, wall bedstraw, and rue-leaved saxifrage – the presence of which makes the wall a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

Photograph of old decayed brickwork on the gate piers at Basing House, HampshirePhotograph of completed restoration of gate piers at Basing House, Hampshire

The gate piers before and after restoration work.

Sensitive repairs were also carried out on the brickwork of the Citadel Tunnel, which is a large drain connecting Basing House to a nearby river. Works were carefully timed so the resident hibernating bats were undisturbed, and open joints were left between the bricks to provide the bats with suitable crevices to crawl into.

Photograph of replaced bricks at entrance to Citadel Tunnel at Basing House, Hampshire

Replaced bricks at The Citadel Tunnel

Photograph of old, decayed bricks in Citadel Tunnel at Basing House, HampshirePhotograph of replaced bricks in Citadel Tunnel at Basing House, Hampshire

Before and after – carefully retaining the opening to what was once a small branch culvert 

A second phase of conservation repairs is underway, dismantling and rebuilding the top of the wall that forms the boundary with residential properties to remove damaging plant roots, helping to ensure the future of this historically significant structure for generations to come.