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Basingstoke is a prosperous town with an above-average standard of living and low unemployment. Major industries include drug manufacture, insurance and electronics and the headquarters of the Automobile Association is located in the town. Population growth has been rapid since its designation as a London overspill town in 1961: in 1951 there were only 16,000 inhabitants. Today it is famous for having a large number of roundabouts.
Basingstoke has existed as a small market town since the Anglo-Saxon period, and is listed in the Domesday Book as a royal manor. The ruins of the TudorThe period of English history known as the Tudor period normally refers to the period of time between 1485 and 1603 when the Tudor dynasty held the English throne. Tudor may also refer to any of the following people of that ruling family: King Henry VII o palacePalais de la Cit in Paris, the royal palace of France. Viewed from the back, across the Seine River, with the Sainte Chapelle on the right side. Painted in the 1410s. This article refers to royal residences. For more information on the graphical virtual r of Basing HouseBasing House Hampshire, was a major English Tudor palace and castle that once rivalled Hampton Court Palace in its size and opulence. Today only the foundations and earthworks remain. History Basing House was built in 1535 as a new palace for Sir William can be found one mile east of the town centre.
In the late 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around, Basingstoke town centre was completely rebuilt. At this time many buildings of historic interest were replaced by a large concrete shopping centre. The brutalismBrutalism is an architectural style that spawned from the Modernist architectural movement and which flourished from the 1950s to the 1970s. The early style was largely inspired by the work of Swiss architect, Le Corbusier (in particular his Unite d'Habit of the town's architecture, and its perceived status as a haven for [accountancy|accountants]] and those with other occupations considered "boring", have led to Basingstoke becoming an comedic archetypeArchetype is defined as the first original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated. The term is often used in literature, architecture, and the arts to refer to something that go for the soullessness of many modern British towns.
In the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Ruddigore, the word Basingstoke is a sort of soothing charm which Sir Despard Murgatroyd intones to Mad Margaret when she seems in danger of getting agitated, presumably an indication that the town even then was considered boring and respectable. (Although she says the word is "teeming with hidden meaning" the audience would have known better.) Even Shakespeare pokes mild fun at Basingstoke, with a line in King Henry VI [1]. Basingstoke also gets a mention in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
It is twinned with