Thruxton

Five miles from Andover, Thruxton was almost certainly one of four 'Annes' named in the Domesday Book under the Andover Hundred. In the 12th century the name was Turkilleston (Turkil being a Saxon 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 Thruckleston (16th century), Throxton (18th century) to the present form. Thruxton is thought to be another possible site where Olaf's hostages settled.

 

Gliders flew to Arnhem from the World War II airfield to the west of the village. Now Thruxton is nationally known as a motor racing centre and home of the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC). Unlike the racing circuit, the village can hardly be seen from the main road. In 1985 the centre of the village was declared a Conservation Area.

 

A monumental brass figure in full plate armour of Sir John de Lisle is held in the Church of St Peter and Paul, in the graveyard of which he was buried on his death in 1407. In the church you will also find two 13th century coffin slabs and a wooden effigy of Elizabeth Philpott (late 16th century). Parts of the church date from the 13th and 15th century but is mostly the result of 19th century modernisation. The Manor at Thruxton was destroyed, leaving no trace of the house, and the present Manor House was built outside the old earthworks, probably in the first half of the 18th century.