Throop is a village in Dorset situated on the outskirts of Bournemouth. It is renowned for its expansive fishing industry.
Geography and administration
Although within the historic county boundaries of Hampshire, 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 Muscliff Ward within the Bournemouth borough council and is close to the River Stour featuring countryside views over the Stour Valley. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 8,882. Also in the area is Muccleshell.
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".
Notable areas in Throop
Throop Mill
One of the main characteristics of modern-day Throop is the Grade II listed flour mill, first listed on 19 May 1975. The building gained its 'listed' status thanks to its sluice gates, with Historic England stating "despite the mid-C20 date of the machinery, the structure is remarkably complete and an increasingly rare survival of its type". The mill and nearby surrounding areas are popular locations for walking and fishing, with several walking routes alongside the River Stour towards Muscliff and Holdenhurst.
The mill in Throop village has been present in some regard since the 12th century passing through various ownerships, including monks from Quarr Abbey. The mill was recorded in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book in 1086, although it is unclear whether it was in its current location or nearby. The foundations of an earlier building have been discovered in the existing mill. The current building is from the late 19th Century.
The most recent owners of the mill when it was still in operation were Parsons and Sons. They used the mill until selling it in 1957. Their name still remains on the outside of the mill. The mill has been closed since 1974, when it stopped operating due to water drying up with the creation of a flood relief scheme further up the river. Although not in use, the early 20th-century milling machinery still remains. Examples of this can still be seen, notably the 50" turbine drove water for mill. This is located on the grass outside the mill and was made by local Ringwood firm, Armfields.
Throop House
Throop House is a Grade II listed building, first listed on 5 May 1952. With river frontage and of gardens, 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 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 James Fisher's eldest son Adrian, now professional international maze designer, created his first maze in the garden of Throop House; this maze, planted in holly, 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.