I was drawn to the old walled Tudor Garden, but more especially the curious turrets built at the corners of the high garden wall. Part of the garden layout had been restored and the manicured bushes of the parterre gleamed in the bright autumnal sunshine. What a peaceful place it was! (It had not always been so: during the English Civil War, this place was the full of anti-Royalist soldiers besieging Basing House).
In Tudor times, if the weather turned inclement, visitors of the garden could take refuge in the windowless towers. When I inspected the interior of one of the towers, I found only steps leading down into darkness!
The tower of particular fascination to me was the one with the dove cote. The dove cote wasn’t a part of the original tower; it had been added in later years.
Here is a quick sketch of the tower in question!