Basingstoke

Lost Basingstoke. Montage of Old Photos of Basingstoke.

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• published: 03 Feb 2013
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Basingstoke-Through-The-Years/326676937518062?ref=hl Lost Basingstoke. Old Photos of Basingstoke. My home town in pictures. A montage of old photos of my home town Basingstoke Situated in a valley through the North Downs at an average altitude of 88 metres (289 ft) Basingstoke is a major interchange between Reading, Newbury, Andover, Winchester, and Alton, and lies on the natural trade route between the southwest of England and London. Basingstoke's expansion has absorbed much surrounding farmland and scattered housing, transforming it into housing estates or local districts. Many of these new estates are designed as almost self-contained communities, such as Lychpit, Chineham, Popley, Winklebury, Oakridge, Kempshott, Brighton Hill, Viables, South Ham, Black Dam, Buckskin and Hatch Warren. The M3 acts as a buffer zone to the south of the town, and the South Western Main Line constrains the western expansion, with a green belt to the north and north-east, making Basingstoke shaped almost like a kite. As a result, the villages of Cliddesden, Dummer, Sherborne St John and Oakley, although being very close to the town limits, are considered distinct entities. Popley, Hatch Warren and Beggarwood are seeing rapid growth in housing. Basingstoke was among the towns and cities targeted during the Second World War, and suffered bomb damage including St Michael's Church. After the war, it had a population of 25,000. As part of the London Overspill plan, Basingstoke was rapidly developed in the late 1960s as an 'expanded town', along with places such as Harlow and Swindon. Basingstoke town centre was completely rebuilt. At this time many buildings of historic interest were replaced by a large red brick shopping centre and concrete multi-storey car park. Many office blocks and large estates were built, including a ring road. The shopping centre, following money issues, was built in phases. The first phase was completed by the 1970s and was later covered in the 1980s, and was known as The Walks. The second phase was completed by the early 1980s, and became The Malls. The third phase was abandoned and the site was later used to build the Anvil concert hall. Later that year, the Basingstoke Gazette launched its "Basingstoke -- A Place to be Proud of" campaign, aimed at changing people's perception of the town. The campaign is ongoing (as of June 2011) and marked by the presentation of annual awards to individuals, organisations or businesses nominated by the public for commendable local achievement. As a mark of the improving image of the town as place to live, the borough entered the top 50 best places to live in the 2011 Halifax survey at number 47. Festival Place shopping centre. The central part of the shopping centre was rebuilt in 2002 and reopened as Festival Place. This has bought a dramatic improvement to shoppers' opinions of the town centre, but it is unclear if it has softened the town's overall image. Further work to improve the image of the town continues with the latest Central Basingstoke Vision project coordinated by the Borough Council. In the mid-1990s, numerous reports described sightings of the Beast of Basingstoke, a big cat believed to be a lion or a puma, possibly two. Local legend suggests the animal was shot and killed, although no official news sources document any capture or killing of the beast. During the severe snow storms of December 2009, Basingstoke and the surrounding area was one of the worst hit regions in the UK, where an estimated 3000 motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles around the town and on the ring road during the evening rush hour of the 21st