Geography and Administration

Although within the historic county boundaries of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, at the time of the 1974 local government re-organization it was considered desirable that the whole of what is now called the South East Dorset conurbation, which includes Bournemouth and Poole, should be part of the same county. Throop is currently part of the Throop and Muscliffe Ward within the Bournemouth borough council and is close to the River Stour

River Stour, Dorset

The River Stour is a 60.5 mile long river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. It is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from rivers of the same name...

 featuring countryside views over the Stour Valley.

History

Throop village has existed for many years and is described in various historical texts relating to the Bournemouth area – in 1842 it is referred to as a "Pleasant and secluded village".

Throop Mill

One of the main characteristics of modern day Throop is the watermill referred to as “Throop Mill”. The watermill in Throop village has been present in some regard from the 12th century passing through various ownerships including monks from Quarr Abbey and was mentioned in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

.

Throop House

Throop House is the finest house in the village, and with its unrivalled river frontage and 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of gardens, is one of the most delightful and distinctive homes in Bournemouth. The house was built in 1804 of the distinctively cream Bournemouth brick. It was built by Lord Malmesbury as the dower house for Hurn Court a mile away across the River Stour. Several magnificent cedar trees are the highlight of the gardens. In 1959 Dr James Fisher (after whom the James Fisher Medical Centre in Shillingstone Drive is named) and his wife Rosemary and family came to Throop House where they lived until 1978. In 1975 their eldest son Adrian, the internationally renowned maze designer, created his first maze in the garden of Throop House; this maze planted in holly unfortunately no longer exists.

Throop Ford and the Pig Shoot

There has been a ford across the River Stour for many centuries, some 400 metres downstream of Throop Mill. Tradition holds that it was the place where Sir Walter Tyrrell crossed the River Stour in August 1100 on his way to Poole and exile, having killed King William Rufus in the New Forest a few hours earlier. Over the centuries, a substantial structure of posts was created, holding back a broad strip of gravel some 50 metres long. In Victorian times, crossing the ford was a popular highlight for horse-and-carriage trips by visitors to Bournemouth. In the Second World War, to deny advantage to a possible German invasion, the retaining posts were removed, and the ford was washed away. At this point, the river is now deep and makes a sharp turn, and all that remains of the ford is the sloping track down to the river known as the Pig Shoot, and the gravel track to which it is aligned on the opposite bank.

The track on the opposite bank leads on to a second Ford, still intact, across the Leaden Stour. This is known locally as Pansy's Bathing Place, named after the golden retriever of Dr and Mrs James Fisher, who have lived in Throop (in Throop House and latterly in Throop Mill Cottage) since 1959. Pansy loved swimming in this ford.

External links

• Pictures of Throop Mill