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Throop village (Bournemouth) - old leper colony?

• Message 1.聽

  Posted by Herewordless (U14549396) on Thursday, 23rd December 2010

  I have family that live a few miles from the beautiful, sleepy village of Throop, near the A31/A35 roads in Bournemouth.
  
  My auntie always said that in old medieval days it used to be, or contain, a leper colony? I've tried to find out more about this, but sources are slim.
  
  Has anyone else heard this 'myth'? And do Councils have a policy of quarantining old leper colonies or plague pits?

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  Posted by bandick (U14360315) on Friday, 24th December 2010

  
  
  Man Upstairs鈥�
  On Throop, there鈥檚 sadly not a lot of info other than about the old mill. The village, as I recognise it more or less runs along the one road alongside the course of the river鈥� but housing needs as they are the urban scrawl of the nearby housing development is not so very far away now. Nevertheless it must be one of, if not the last village to still have Gas Street lighting鈥� very oldie worldie. Especially in the festive season鈥� in practical terms鈥� rubbish.
  
  But try this it may help shine a light on the subject鈥�
  
  On the other hand鈥� continue through the village to Holdenhurst, by far a much smaller village, probably a hamlet鈥� and I think you may have better luck.
  
  Don鈥檛 know if you have Google Earth鈥� but if so, look at 50`45鈥�08,40鈥漀 1`49鈥�10,76鈥漌 840 yards north east of the cooper Dean roundabout on the A338 there鈥檚 a small building on the western side of the road. It鈥檚 not much bigger than a double garage鈥� years ago it was just derelict, I think cob walled hovel. Then some time ago it suddenly became encased in corrugated sheeting, with a protective fence surrounding it. Don鈥檛 know why鈥� locked away like an uncherished family heirloom.
  
  Read all you can about the Cooper-Dean family鈥� a fascinating story of two families living locally in 鈥榮erfdom鈥� I believe. Nice story of local boys making good. Must have been very hard given the times etc. Gradually they managed to crawl up the social ladder to become yeoman farmers, landowners鈥� and then huge landowners鈥� I did a lot of research on them years ago鈥� unfortunately forgotten it all.
  
  I tried to find out about the steel clad building many times, and came up with an assortment of answers鈥� one of them it being the Cooper-Dean family home before hitting the big time鈥� never heard of a leper colony but try this link鈥� right at the end there are several drawings鈥� one is a drawing of a leper colony鈥� but in Holdenhurst, not Throop. The two villages are within spitting distance of each other and yet both have a separate identity鈥� and both quite charming.
  
  Do you know the area鈥�?
  
  Kind regards bandick.
  
  

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  Posted by Herewordless (U14549396) on Monday, 27th December 2010

  Cheers Bandick for your reply.
  
  I have known the area for a few decades, on and off, when visiting family near the Cooper-Dean roundabout (and lovely pub there!). I love doing the round walk from Throop Mill and beyond the river (Stour?) and around the villages in the far distance, via the flooded fjord (Pigshoot Lane?) and back again.
  
  I never really found out if there actually was a leper colony there, or nearby, and sadly those links you kindly provided didn't either, but it's a lovely story.
  
  Regards
  

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• Message 4

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  Posted by Herewordless (U14549396) on Thursday, 30th December 2010

  Bandick, I have since received these replies;-
  
  From Bournemouth Tourism ;-
  
  "Keith Rawlings`s book, Just Bournemouth says that Smallpox epidemics in the village seemed to be commonplace, and that porter, rum,gin and wine were all used as treatments in the early 1800`s. A small Lepers Hospital exists in the garden of a house, although there is some uncertainty whether it served as such."
  
  And from the Senior Librarian at Bournemouth Libraries;-
  
  "Unfortunately there are few sources giving the history of Throop. Throop Mill, in Holdenhurst Parish, is mentioned in the Domesday Book and a hamlet grew up there. The Mill was leased by Christchurch Priory from 1282 and in 1323 King Edward 11 gave the mill to the Priory of Christchurch. It appears that a Leper Hospital was built at Christchurch in the fourteenth century with a hospice at Holdenhurst but we do not have any records of this.
  
  For a picture of the former hospice please follow .
  
  Please also see this account of the buildings in Christchurch and Holdenhurst from the Dorset History Centre .
  
  The Dorset History Centre may have other records you would find interesting. If you just do a general Google search using the key words leper and Holdenhurst you will find more interesting links."
  

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