complex after one hundred years had its problems with dry and wet rot, broken windows, leaking roofs, and keeping the various wings heated. At the time of the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the 5th Marquess. John Paulet, was a supporter of King Charles I. As a consequence, parliamentary forces invested Basing House on three occasions, with the Royalists breaking the first two sieges. The final siege started in August 1645 when Colonel John Dalbier, with 800 troops, took up position around the walls. The garrison held out, despite further reinforcements to the attacking force, until Oliver Cromwell arrived with a heavy siege-train. By 14 October 1645, the New House had been taken and the defences of the Old House breached. The final storming took place across the link from the New House. Many valuable goods were carried off, and a fire destroyed the building, as well as killing several priests who had taken refuge in the cellar. From the first firing of the guns, the assault was over in forty-five minutes, with the fires raging for up to nine hours after the event. To send a message to other Royalist supporters, Cromwell returned to London and there was a Parliamentary decree issued that anyone could take from the estate, and therefore local villagers were encouraged to remove bricks from Basing House, and these materials were reused in homes in the surrounding area. While the local populace would sometimes be used to dismantle buildings, it was unusual to encourage them to make use of the materials. There is archaeological evidence that the materials of the house were arranged into types for systematic reclaim, rather than a 'free-for-all'. John Paulet had his estates confiscated and was sent to the Tower of London on a charge of high treason, which was later dropped, and the site of Basing House was returned to him by Charles II. His son Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, became wealthy again as a consequence of his support for William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution. This wealth was used to demolish what was left of Basing House and to build nearby a new house at Hackwood. The prior history of the area on which this house stands is unclear. Location Basing House is located in the village of Old Basing, approximately one mile east of the centre of the town of Basingstoke, in