Festival Place

Basingstoke ( BAY-zing-stohk) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located 30 miles (48 km) north-east of Southampton, 48 miles (77 km) south-west of London, 27 miles (43 km) west of Guildford, 22 miles (35 km) south of Reading and 20 miles (32 km) north-east of the county town and former capital Winchester. According to the 2016 population estimate, the town had a population of 113,776. It is part of the borough of Basingstoke and Deane and part of the parliamentary constituency of Basingstoke. Basingstoke is an old market town expanded in the mid-1960s, as a result of an agreement between London County Council and Hampshire County Council. It was developed rapidly after the Second World War, along with various other towns in the United Kingdom, in order to accommodate part of the London 'overspill' as perceived under the Greater London Plan in 1944. Basingstoke market was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it remained a small market town until the early 1960s. At the start of World War II, the population was little more than 13,000. It still has a regular market, but is now larger than Hampshire County Council's definition of a market town.Basingstoke became an important economic centre during the second half of the 20th century and houses the locations of the UK headquarters of Motorola, The Automobile Association, De La Rue, Sun Life Financial, ST Ericsson, GAME, Barracuda Networks, Eli Lilly and Company, FCB Halesway part of FCB, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions (the leasing arm of BNP Paribas in the UK) and Sony Professional Solutions. It is also the location of the European headquarters of the TaylorMade Golf Company. Other industries include IT, telecommunications, insurance and electronics.

The Anvil is a concert hall and a performing arts centre in the town of Basingstoke in Hampshire, UK. Built on a site originally set aside for the third phase of Basingstoke's shopping centre, The Anvil was built to tackle what was then seen as a 'cultural desert' in the Basingstoke area. The aim of the project was to raise the profile of the Borough and to establish it as a major regional centre with a range of first class facilities. Twenty years since its opening, it is still not exactly clear how effectively these aims have been fulfilled, but the Hall seems quite popular within the local area. The building's name reflects its unusual shape, particularly when seen from the western approach as it vaguely resembles the horn end of a traditional blacksmith's anvil. It has also been likened to the bow of a ship. The hall plays host to a variety of touring productions, stand up comedians, live bands, opera, and most famously classical music. The hall is designed to be multi purpose, and has multiple stage formats that fit shows according to their needs, plus a removable proscenium to cater for more theatrical performances that require more than a standard 'black box' stage, notably opera and pantomime. The auditorium has adjustable seating and considered some of the finest acoustics of any concert hall in Europe. The acoustic design was by Richard Cowell of Arup Acoustics. There is a small second auditorium, The Forge, which primarily plays host to acoustic and folk acts.

St. Michael's Church is a notable Anglican parish church in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. It is located in the lower part of the town, near its centre, towards the northern end of Church Street.

Basingstoke railway station serves the town of Basingstoke in the county of Hampshire in England. It is on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo, with local and fast services operated by South Western Railway. It is the terminus of Great Western Railway local services on the Reading to Basingstoke Line. Long-distance cross-country services operated by CrossCountry to Bournemouth from Birmingham (the Bournemouth to Birmingham route), Manchester and further north, join the main line from the branch there. It is 47 miles 61 chains (76.9 km) down the line from London Waterloo, and 51 miles 39 chains (82.9 km) from London Paddington.

The Breeze Basingstoke & North Hampshire was an independent local radio station serving Basingstoke and the surrounding area of North Hampshire. Owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network.

The Willis Museum is a local history museum in the Market Place, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Basingstoke Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway was a standard gauge railway in Hampshire, UK. The 12 mi (19 km) line, which opened on Saturday, 1 June 1901 with no formal ceremony, ran between Basingstoke and Alton. It was the first railway authorised by the Light Railway Commission to be built under the Light Railways Act 1896.In January 1917 much of the track was removed. But the line was relaid and re-opened in August 1924 largely because of pressure from local landowners, farmers and agricultural workers. Passenger services ended in 1932 but a goods service from Basingstoke as far as Bentworth and Lasham continued until 1936. Most of the line was then lifted for a second time. However, two short stretches of track at either end of the railway were left in place. These were used for shunting goods traffic until 1967. The northern section was from Basingstoke to the Thornycroft factory, and from Butts Junction to Alton Park at the southern end.

Basingstoke is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Maria Miller, a Conservative. She is the former Culture Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities.

Oakridge is a village in Hampshire, England, and is located in the north of Basingstoke within the ring road. It's more of a suburb than a village, because it's part of Basingstoke.

May's Bounty is a cricket ground situated along Bounty Road in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The ground is compact and is lined on all sides by trees, with its northern side overlooked by residential housing. The Bounty was used intermittently by Hampshire County Cricket Club in the early 20th-century, before Hampshire began to play there annually from 1966 to 2000. The ground is owned by the Basingstoke Sports and Social Club and is used in club cricket by Basingstoke and North Hants Cricket Club. The ground has a capacity for major matches of 2,500, while its end names are called the Town End to the north and the Castlefield End to the south.

Holy Ghost Church is a Roman Catholic church in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. It was built from 1902 to 1903 by the priest and architect Alexander Scoles in the Gothic Revival style. It was named after the old ruined medieval Chapel of the Holy Ghost in the town. It is located on the corner of Chapel Hill and Sherborne Road, north of Basingstoke railway station near the town centre. According to Historic England, the church was "the last and best work" of Alexander Scoles. He is buried there and it is a Grade II listed building.

The Costello School is an 11–16 mixed secondary school with academy status in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.It originally opened as Basingstoke High School for girls. It became Harriet Costello Secondary School in 1972 when it became a co-ed, but was renamed Costello Technology College after gaining specialist Technology College status. The school was converted to academy status on 1 July 2012 and was renamed The Costello School. Before becoming an academy it was a community school under the direct control of Hampshire County Council. The school continues to coordinate with Hampshire County Council for admissions. The school, as of 1 September 2018, is now part of the multi-academy trust (MAT) Bohunt Education Trust.