Flashback Thursday: Unveiling a new era

He cut the tape with a pair of silver scissors which had been given to him by Mr B D East, who was the chairman and managing director of Town and City Properties, which was responsible for carrying out the development.

The tape was tied in a Gordian knot, which, as it parted, marked the opening of the £10m pedestrian precinct.

The name Gordian comes from the ancient story of the knot that the King of Phrygia (a section of 12th century Asia Minor) tied so tight that it could not be undone. It was finally severed by the sword of Alexander the Great.

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The term Gordian knot is now used for anything that is complicated or difficult, which, in some respects, referred to the demolition of the old town centre and the construction of the new one.

There were a few problems in that period of the 1960s, but, basically, the whole project went well, as far as the authorities were concerned.

The opening of about 60 shops up to that Christmas was to relieve the congestion that had mounted in the old town centre over the previous years, due to the vast increase in Basingstoke’s population caused by the thousands of overspill families from London moving to the town’s housing estates and having few shops in which to buy things.

The first phase of the shopping centre was to establish large high street stores, which could cope with the crowds of that time.

The further development of the new town centre, which was completed in 1981, was to help even more as, by then, the expansion of the town had caused the population to rise from 50,000 to 130,000.

Meanwhile, back at the opening of the shopping centre, the occasion was witnessed by hundreds of people, including members of the local council, the Town Development Committee, the main contractors and crowds of shoppers, the latter being herded into the Wote Street and Church Street entrances, awaiting to surge into the few shops that were ready to be opened. Over the following weeks, many more were completed, with a large percentage of goods aimed at the Christmas market.

The mayor, in his opening speech, included some historical information in which he mentioned the name of Potters Lane being derived from an old pottery that stood at the Wote Street end of the road, which later became the site of the Angel Inn, one of many public houses demolished for the new shopping centre.

He also told the story of a wedding cake which was made by Mr Philpott upon opening his bakery and confectionery shop in 1898, and was put in his shop window to advertise his trade. (That cake remained there until the shop closed down in 1964, then was put in the attic of his daughters’ house until they died. The cake was then given to The Willis Museum. Neither of his daughters were married.)

The mayor continued his speech by thanking everyone concerned with the construction of the first phase of the precinct, including the architects for the “imaginative treatment” they had given to the design and layout of the new shopping centre, and Tersons, which had built it and had performed “minor miracles of organisation” to get the shops ready in time.

He concluded by saying that the centre provided a good choice of shops, which were safe from traffic and protected from the inclement weather, as well as having a covered car park which, at that time, accommodated 500 cars.

Other speakers were Mr B D East and the alderman John Stroud, chairman of the Development Group joint committee.

Once the first phase of the shopping centre was open, work continued on the next section, which included the Sports Centre. This was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in December 1970, after funds for its equipment had been collected through “sports-walks” that many people had completed.

The second phase of the shopping centre was opened in October 1981, by Jan Leeming, the television newsreader, thus completing the whole project up to the railway station.

Eight days later, a publication was launched to let the many newcomers know about the history of Basingstoke and its future prospects. For five shillings (now 25p), its 66 pages had articles about historical characters, local public houses, Basing House and other subjects, while other features told of the educational future of the town, and the intended formation of a friendly community.

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The book, called Basingstoke – A Look Forward, A Look Back, was published by Basingstoke Lions’ Club, with the help of local authors. Although no longer in print, it is still available at local lending libraries.

Now, 40 years later, the recent book The Making of Basingstoke and the DVD The Story of Basingstoke have brought the chronicle of the town up to date.

This column has been updated and was originally published in The Gazette in November 2008.