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Coordinates: 51°16′00″N 1°05′15″W  /  51.2667 , -1.0876

Cultural references

In the 1887 Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Ruddigore , the word "Basingstoke" is used as a code word by Sir Despard Murgatroyd to soothe his new wife, Mad Margaret, when she seems in danger of relapsing into madness. Margaret suggests this course of action herself:

Well, then, when I am lying awake at night, and the pale moonlight streams through the latticed casement, strange fancies crowd upon my poor mad brain, and I sometimes think that if we could hit upon some word for you to use whenever I am about to relapse—some word that teems with hidden meaning—like "Basingstoke"—it might recall me to my saner self.

First published in 1895, Thomas Hardy referred to Basingstoke as "Stoke Barehills" in Jude the Obscure – Part Fifth, Chapter 5

Carl Barât, co-founder of The Libertines rock band, was born in Basingstoke and responded to a request for a description of the town with the question: "Have you seen The Office?".

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, just after Ford Prefect has explained to Arthur Dent that they hitched a lift on a spaceship Arthur replies: "Are you trying to tell me that we just stuck out our thumbs and some green bug-eyed monster stuck his head out and said, Hi fellas, hop right in. I can take you as far as the Basingstoke roundabout?".

The character Rodney Trotter in the sitcom Only Fools And Horses studied at a technology college in Basingstoke, presumably Basingstoke College Of Technology.

Filmography

The 1998 film Get Real was filmed at various locations around the town.

The British sitcom Blessed referred to Basingstoke in an episode that aired during the last quarter of 2005. When the main character met an upper-class couple who had named their children "India" and "Ireland" to reflect their supposed mystical natures, he ironically replied that he had named his own children "Basingstoke" and "Milton Keynes".

Basingstoke’s North Hampshire Hospital was one of two hospitals used for the filming of Channel 4's hit comedy Green Wing .

An episode of Top Gear was filmed in Festival Place in November 2008. The episode will be broadcast on BBC2 at 8:00pm on 7 December. Jeremy Clarkson was testing the new Ford Fiesta in the town in the early hours of the morning.

Twinned towns

Basingstoke is twinned with

• Alençon, France, since 1968
• Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium, since 1979
• Euskirchen, Germany, since 1986

See also

• Category:Basingstoke: listing of Basingstoke-themed articles
• List of famous residents of Basingstoke
• Basingstoke Canal

Notes

a. ^{^}   The List of generic forms in British place names shows a toponomic interpretation of the various Old English elements within the names Basing and Basingstoke. ‘’Bas’’ is taken as a personal name, ‘’ingas’’ as 'people of' and ‘’stoc’’ as 'dependent farmstead' or 'secondary settlement'.

b. ^{^}   In summarising to Magistrates at the trial of those members of the public said to have rioted against the Salvationists, defence counsel stated that ‘’Until this body known as the Salvation Army was formed here, the number of summonses which had come before the Magistrates was comparatively unknown. They now had a large number of assault cases to hear.’’ ‘’The army perfectly well knew that their conduct was leading to disturbances in the town’’. The case against the defendants was dismissed.

References

1. ^ "Basingstoke & Deane Population Forecasts". Hampshire County Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-13.
2. ^ Stokes, Eric (1980). Basingstoke – Expanding Town . The Workers’ Educational Association. pp. 15.  
3. ^ "Rural Hampshire FAQs". Hampshire County Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
4. ^ "Basingstoke & Deane Key Facts". Hampshire County Council (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
5. ^ "Maria Miller MP". They WorkForYou.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
6. ^ "The Council and its Meetings". Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
7. ^ "Hampshire County Council library service, Best Value Inspection 2001" (PDF). Hampshire County Council. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
8. ^ "Combined feasibility and building design project appraisal". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
9. ^ "Victoria County History, Worting Parish". British History Online. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
10. ^ Stokes, Eric (1980). Basingstoke – Expanding Town . The Worker’s Educational Association. pp. 45.  
11. ^ "Report of the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
12. ^ "Report of the Director of Environment". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
13. ^ "A brief history of Winklebury Ring". Fort Hill Community School (2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
14. ^ "Hampshire Treasures Vol 2". Hampshire County Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
15. ^ "Anglo-Saxon Charters". Sean Miller (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
16. ^ "English Place Names". The University of Nottingham (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
17. ^ "Old Basing & Lychpit Parish History". Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
18. ^ "Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs". Centre for Metropolitan History (2004). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
19. ^ "St Michael's Church – the building". Hampshire County Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
20. ^ "Hampshire Treasures Vol 2". Hampshire County Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
21. ^ Baigent, Francis J.; James Millard (1889). A History of the Ancient Town and Manor of Basingstoke . C.J. Jacob. pp. 565.  
22. ^ "Victorian County History – Hampshire Vol 4". British History Online (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
23. ^ Christopher J. Tolley (2001). "Basingstoke's Railway History in Maps". accessdate = 3/5/2008.
24. ^ "Wallis and Steevens – A Timeline". Hampshire County Council (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
25. ^ Hawker, Anne (1999). The Story of Basingstoke . Hampshire County Museum Service. pp. 69.  
26. ^ "Milward’s celebrates 125 years of footwear", Hants & Berks Gazette , 1982  
27. ^ Baigent, Francis J.;