Norfolk House, in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) 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 north-east of Southa ...

, Hampshire, England, was the headquarters of

The Automobile Association AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. Th ...

from the mid-1990s until 2003. It was originally intended to replace

Fanum House Fanum House is the headquarters of the Automobile Association in Basingstoke, in the English county of Hampshire. It is one of several current and former AA buildings named "Fanum House" around the country. The original headquarters in Leiceste ...

as the AA's HQ, but ultimately the building was not large enough to accommodate all Basingstoke-based employees and both buildings operated concurrently. The building was purpose-built, and located at the Aldermaston Road roundabout, at the junction of the Basingstoke ring road and the

A340 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with ...

- it replaced The AA's main warehouse built on that site which was also known as Norfolk House. It consisted of three permanent structures, the main office block and car park, a technology centre (the Durie Centre), and the AA sports and social club (the Fanum Club)/ museum which featured squash courts and other sports facilities, with a bar on part of the first floor. There was also a security gatehouse and a petrol pump, used by AA employees to fill company vehicles. The main building was above three levels of undercover car park. There were three floors, including the entrance (ground) floor. The ground floor featured a large reception area with marble floors, an employee cafeteria, and office wings on either side accessible to employees by swiping their ID card. The offices were constructed around internal garden areas. The upper floors were accessed by a curved, floating staircase, or by lift. Each floor had a circular balcony overlooking the reception area. One side of the 2nd (top) floor was a plush executive suite, with very large glass offices for the AA Director-General and the other directors, executive washrooms, and meeting rooms. The AA boardroom with an

anteroom A vestibule (also anteroom, antechamber, or foyer) is a small room leading into a larger space such as a lobby, entrance hall or passage, for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space view, reducing heat loss, providing storage space ...

was within this suite. The executive suite was not accessible to the majority of employees, as it required a special ID card access. There was also a dedicated executive catering facility, with its own dining rooms. These were used both by the directors on a day-to-day basis, and for entertaining guests from other motoring associations worldwide and commercial partners. After the purchase of the AA by

Centrica Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is the largest su ...

in 1999, various Centrica functions moved into the building, and it was used jointly by Centrica, British Gas and AA employees until its closure. The executive facilities were dispensed with. After it closed, the building stood empty for some time, until it was occupied by the

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

company

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...

and renamed Lilly House. The building was demolished in 2022.

AA Museum

The AA Museum featured exhibits of AA memorabilia from over the years, everything from badges and signs to petrol pumps, many photographs, and vehicles including an AA-liveried

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

van, a

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

and various motorcycles. Image:Mini_Van_001.JPG Image:AAMiniVan2.jpg After the closure of Norfolk House, the museum was incorporated into the

Milestones Museum Milestones Museum of Living History is a museum located on the Leisure Park in Basingstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom, UK. Milestones is made up of a network of streets that have been recreated according to those found in Victorian era, Victoria ...

in Basingstoke. {{Coord, 51.2787, N, 1.1049, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Hampshire Basingstoke The Automobile Association