The Victoria History of Hampshire

Though Basingstoke is often seen as the product of the last decades of the 20th century, its beginnings go back to c.1000. By 1500 it was among the top 60 towns in England by wealth and taxpayers, and the centre of a major industrial area, whose manufactured cloths formed part of international patterns of trade. This book examines the medieval history, and modern day survivals, as well as the families whose dynamism helped create the town's expansion.