7 Old Ruins to Explore in Hampshire

Basing House was once the largest private house in England. It was built by William Paulet, Marquess of Winchester in the Tudor period, on the site of an earlier medieval castle. Basing House was once home to the powerful courtier William Paulet, Marquess of Winchester. You can enjoy a picnic in the re-created Jacobean garden, and come along to the many events and activities held throughout the year, including open air theatre, dig pits, re-enactments and a December Christmas market.

Odiham Castle is located within a tranquil site adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal. The Castle, with its surrounding defensive ditches, was built between 1207 and 1214. The site was probably chosen by King John as a convenient point between his strongholds at Winchester and Windsor. The only visible remains are part of the octagonal keep and outlying earthworks. In September 2007 Hampshire County Council undertook a restoration of the shell keep under guidance from English Heritage.

The Grade II* listed Eling Tide Mill, which has stood at the center of life in Eling for centuries, is one of only a handful of working tide mills left in the UK. The mill's fascinating story and history continue in the Discovery Room where interactive displays include opportunities for visitors of all ages to get hands-on with quern stones and a working model of a tide mill.You can learn about the workings of the newly restored mill and discover how the tide is harnessed to power the centuries-

Winchester City Mill is one of the oldest working watermills in the country, with over a thousand years of milling history behind it. Its history goes back over a thousands of years and in the Domesday survey of 1086 a Mill was recorded to be in its exact location. The building you see today was rebuilt and extended in the late 13 Century and again by its tenant James Cooke in 1743.

Netley Abbey is the most complete surviving Cistercian monastery in southern England. After the Suppression of the Monasteries the buildings were converted into a mansion for Sir William Paulet. The ruins now reflect over 800 years of change, during which the abbey was transformed from a monastic house to a mansion house, and later to a romantic ruin.

The ruins of 13th-century Titchfield Abbey, the last monastery of Premonstratensian canons to be founded in England, lie in the valley of the River Meon in south Hampshire. The extensive ruins of the 13th-century abbey are dwarfed by an imposing Tudor gatehouse built from the nave of the abbey church. The remains were purchased by the government in the early twentieth century and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the care of English Heritage.

Whitchurch Silk Mill is a 19th-century water mill that weaves English silk fabrics using 19th century machinery. is the oldest silk mill still weaving silk in its original building. It includes the original mill wheel and Victorian machinery, fabulous fabrics on the looms, a shop to indulge in silk products from the Mill, plus a peaceful setting by the River Test, with a café for light lunches and refreshments.