Thruxton, Hampshire
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Thruxton is just off the A303 road west of
Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...
. It is a village with a Manor House, thatched cottages and village green. Pillhill Brook runs from Thruxton Down through the grounds of the Manor House and along the village street to Mullen's Pond, a natural habitat for many species of migratory birds and wild plants.


History

Thruxton was almost certainly one of four ‘Annes’ named in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
under the Andover Hundred. In the twelfth century the name was Turkilleston (Turkil being a
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
name and ‘tun’ being the Saxon word for farmstead and later hamlet, or village - so Turkils or Thurcols Homestead ) which, over the centuries, changed via Turcleston, Thorcleston (13th century), Throkeleston, Thurkcleston (14th century), Throkeston (15th century), Thruckleston (16th century), Throxton (18th century) to the present form. A
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
building considered to be a temple or a basilican villa was unearthed near the village in 1823, which contained a mosaic depicting
Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...
seated on a tiger. The tessellated pavement was acquired for the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in 1899. The manor was held in 1086 by Gozelin de Cormeilles; in 1304, his descendant, John de Cormeilles, was granted the right to hold a market every Monday and a fair on the eve of the feast of St Peter and St Paul (the saints the village church is dedicated to). Parts of the parish church of St Peter and St Paul's date from the thirteenth century and contain the tombs of three
knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
. Two coffin slabs for two of the knights stand upright at the entrance in the bell tower. Made of Purbeck marble, they are heavily weathered, although the great helm and shield of one is still discernible. His spear lies beside him on his right side. Just when the de Cormeilles family parted with the manor of Thruxton and how the Lisles acquired it is unknown. Sir John Lisle and his wife are buried in the church, with Sir John commemorated with an outstanding example of an early 15th-century monumental brass. The brass is dated 1407 and is the earliest known example of a knight in full plate armour in the country. Further generations of Lisle family were buried in the church, although space was becoming restricted by the time of Sir John Lisle in the early 1520s. He decided to build a chapel to provide further room for future burials, including his own. Sir John died in 1524, followed shortly by his wife, Mary. Their tomb is considered a classic of the early
English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...
style and can be seen to the left of the altar. The effigies are made from Purbeck marble. Sir John lies with his bare head on his shield, wearing full plate armour and chain collar of linked "S"s. The work was possibly by Thomas Bertie, a master mason whose work is evident in
Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
. The bulk of the Lisle chapel is gone. Most of it was used to provide building material when the church tower collapsed in 1796 and had to be rebuilt. The Lisle line of direct male heirs died out soon after Sir John and Mary, with the manorial rights passing to Agnes, married to John Philpot. Behind the choir pews on the left of the altar is a weathered wooden effigy from the early 17th century, believed to be of Elizabeth Philpot who died in 1616. The church experienced a number of renovations and rebuilding work between 1839 and 1877, including the construction of the north aisle. The nave also contains a list of the church's rectors dating back to 1243. King James and
Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
stayed with George Philpot at Thruxton in August 1603. They were travelling from
Farnham Castle Farnham Castle is a 12th-century castle in Farnham, Surrey, England. It was formerly the residence of the Bishop of Winchester, Bishops of Winchester. History Built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William I of En ...
to
Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...
, and went next to Sir Richard Gifford's house at King's Somborne. At Thruxton again on 28 August 1607, Anne of Denmark rewarded Sir George Philpot's musicians with 20 shillings. The road through Thruxton was well travelled and used by coaches on the Exeter-London route. In the 1720s a highwayman from Salisbury, John Dyer, would set ambushes on Thruxton Down to hold up coaches. He was captured and hung in London in 1729. On 24 April 1920, Sidney Spicer, a taxi driver, was hailed in Amesbury by Percy Toplis, a criminal and black marketeer who was then serving in the Royal Army Service Corps. The vehicle was travelling towards Andover, but Topliss shot Spicer in the back once they reached Thruxton Down. The driver was killed instantly, with Toplis hiding the body and then stealing the vehicle. The body was found the following morning, with Toplis already on the run. He would be shot dead by police in Cumberland in June after a lengthy manhunt. The toll house for the Andover to Amesbury turnpike road at Mullen's Pond was demolished in 1965.


Race track

Thruxton Circuit The Thruxton Circuit is a motor-racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton, Hampshire, Thruxton in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, about north of Southampton. It has hosted motorsport events including the British Touring Car Ch ...
is a major draw for visitors to the area and can claim to be Britain's fastest motor racing circuit. Currently the track plays host to a variety of high-profile car and motorbike championships, including the British Superbike and British Touring Car Championships, as well as truck racing. The circuit is located on the site of the former aircraft base. The Velocette Thruxton and Triumph Thruxton motorbikes are named after the circuit. The Velocette Thruxton was based on the Velocette Venom which was the first production bike to average over 100 mph for 24 hours. There are several variants of the Triumph, the initial model called the Thruxton Bonneville. The Thruxton 1200 and Thruxton 1200 R are the latest models.


Airfield

Land for the airfield was purchased by the Air Ministry from Thruxton Manor Estate. It was bombed during construction, with damage to one property in Thruxton village and other bombs missing the target, hitting Thruxton Down. The airfield was officially opened as a satellite of nearby
RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Ca ...
airfield on 1 August 1941. It became a base under Army Co-Op Command's auspices and hosted Lysanders of 225 Squadron. They were used for air/sea rescue work. A detachment from 42 OTU also used the airfield. By February 1942, 298 Squadron Whitley bombers converted for paratroop transport landed in preparation for Operation Biting, the famous Bruneval raid, which successfully targeted a Würzburg radar system and took place on 27/28 February 1942. In May 1942, 225 Squadron converted to Mustangs and left Thruxton. 298 Squadron was formed in Thruxton in August 1942, equipped with Whitleys. The unit was used for paratroop exercises by day and leaflet dropping at night. It converted to Albermale aircraft in 1943 and departed for Stoney Cross in August that year. During 1942/43 the airfield was utilised by many different RAF squadrons, including No.s 168, 170 and 268 Squadrons in Autumn 1943. The USAAF arrived in early 1944, with 366th Fighter Group taking control of the airfield on 1 March 1944. The unit flew
P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
s and was under the command of Col. Dyke F Meyer. It comprised three fighter squadrons: 389th, 390th and 391st. Their task in the build-up to D-Day was interdiction and the ground bombing/strafing of German targets in northern France. The Group left for France towards the end of June. The airfield was then used by smaller units until the war's end, when operations ceased. Civilian flight training started at Thruxton Aerodrome in 1947 when the airfield was taken over by the Wiltshire School of Flying until 1967. Western Air then took on the mantle of training people to fly, and even today their instructors are teaching some of the local military the delights of flying light aircraft. For some years it was also the home of Thruxton Gliding Club. The airfield is the base of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, since its founding in 2007.


Public houses

There is one village
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
; the White Horse, a fifteenth-century thatched pub at Mullens Pond south of the A303. The one time George Inn, a former
coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...
is now a private house George House. Built in the late 18th or early 19th century, it is believed to have replaced and taken the name of the older inn opposite dating from the seventeenth century, now known as George Cottage , near the centre of the village.


References


External links


Thruxton Village
(Official website for Thruxton)

(www.southernlife.org.uk)

(Old Hampshire Gazetteer, University of Portsmouth)

(Hampshire Treasures Online, Hampshire County Council)

(British Automobile Racing Club)
Flying School and Airfield home page - ICAO designation EGHO




(control.towers.co.uk)

(Aviation in Hampshire) {{authority control Villages in Hampshire