Its not easy to imagine how one of
the post-war development areas of
Basingstoke is actually one of the
oldest settlements, but the signs are there with the remains of an Iron-Age fort and a Roman Road.
Our first house we brought was on a housing estate in Winklebury, on the North western edge of Basingstoke. The imaginatively titled ‘Roman Road’ marked a distinctive boundary to the town, with fields beyond, and when looking for a place to live, we liked the proximety to open countryside. I could also see on the maps an earthwork feature which gave its name to the area.
Approaching Basingstoke from the A339, the fort still rises above the housing around it. In the past it would have been noticable on the gentle slope and a good strategic point.
The hillfort dates from the Iron Age. Excavations that were carried out in the 1970’s indicate it being established around the 6th Century BC, and possibly earlier. Hillforts weren’t always used as a ‘fort’ as we think of them, but certainly as a means of defending supplies and livestock. The evidence suggests that the defences were strengthened again
in the 3rd Century BC.
The roman road from Silchester to Winchester ran close to the fort and they may have utilized the enclosure. There are several roman sites in the area and a stone coffin was found on ‘Winklebury Hill’ with a skeleton. “Fred” can now be visited in The Willis Museum in Basingstoke, where he will tell you a little bit about his life!
After the Romans left, the site continued through the years to be used for various farming needs. From the medieval period through to the post war development, we can see the evolution of the name. It was always an area ‘away’ from the town, maybe a happily neglegted cluster of small holdings which didn’t rouse the attention of the authorities. ‘Bury’ meaning fort and was also a name of a farm, till the housing arrived in the 60’s.
Below is an aerial photograph of Winklebury before World War 2, with the old A339 Newbury Road, east to west (Now Wellington Terrace), and ‘Roman Road’ running north to South.
Thankfully much of the original boundaries to the earthwork have survived, although eroded. The Fort Hill School being built within the ring has also protected the boundaries to a degree. The ring is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
This southern section of the ramparts is a scramble up from ‘Corfe Walk’, Winklebury.
You get some sense of the elevation, which is lost on the northern edge.
You wonder how many of the locals really know about their bit of heritage. Thankfully there are dedicated group of residents who have set up a project group The raise awareness and maintain the structure with the help of English Heritage, The School and The Council. Thankfully, there can’t be any more building around the ring, but it’s an important landmark to keep preserving.
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It’s also great to hear readers feedback, especially when it’s helped introduce them to ‘the stuff’ on their doorstep…
The stuff around us in North Hampshire... 
Do you have any photos of Bury House? Between 1965 and 1968 my father worked for HCC in the road construction unit for the M3 based in Bury House which was accessed off Blackthorn Way in Winklebury. I would love to see photos of the site from around that time if they exist. Thank you.
Hi Sue, I’m sorry I don’t – You could try The Basingstoke Heritage society? or The friends of The Willis Museum. There have been so many changes to the land in 70 years it would be great to see any mages you find –
Thank you. Will do.
|Hi there. Further to our conversation above I received an email with a photo of Bury House from someone at the Basingstoke Heritage Society. I’ve saved it to my laptop as a png but cannot see how to attach it to this response.
Hi there’s a couple of things you could try- if the last part of the file name is .png change it to .jpg and see if it lets you open it. if you you want to forward it to me I’ll have a look
Thanks for your reply. I was able to open and save the image but couldn$B!G(Bt see how to send it to you in your discussion thread. Now I have an email address I attach the photo, dated 1970 I believe, which is apparently from an out of print book by Robert Brown who took photos of the town as it was being developed. It certainly looks like the Bury House I remember visiting when my father worked there. Regards Sue Bevan[cid:image003.png@01D750BA.B15955C0]
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Hi, I wonder if you would mind if I used some of your information from this site to put into a football programme I am producing for a charity match to be held at Hampshire FA Stadium, winklebury in memory of two gentemen from Winklebury who both passed away in October 2020. This makes really interesting reading and of course I would acknowledge that you wrote it.
Hello Cathy, Thanks for your email – I designed a leaflet for what was then a Fort Hill Community School group- (about 12 years ago), and this was the basis for this article. I’m not sure if the folks who regularly cleaned up the ring are still active? – but it might be best direct attention to one of The Basingstoke Historical Societies? I hope that helps? – I just wouldn’t want take the credit.
My family owned Winklebury Ring farm from 1930s to 1967. I have transparencies and photos taken at The. Ring. If you are interested in following this up, please email me. Somewhere their is also a 6th form project I did setting out maps of what was being grown in the area in 1960
I’d love to see those Sheila, thank you!
Hullo Mike It’s going to take a while to assemble the information. I may have to wait for help from a daughter who is working away at the moment. I have a friend who lives in Overton whom I may visit at some point; maybe I could visit you with info in Oakley (not sure why I think you live there!). Regards Sheila
No rush, but will be lovely to arrange maybe Autumn when things settle dow hopefully