In the 12th century the region around the
mouth of the River Bourne was part of the Hundred of Holdenhurst. The hundred
later became the Liberty of Westover when it was also extended to include the
settlements of North Ashley, Muscliff, Muccleshill, Throop, Iford and Tuckton,
and incorporated into the Manor of Christchurch. Although the Dorset and
Hampshire region surrounding it had been the site of human settlement for
thousands of years, Westover was largely a remote and barren heathland before
1800. In 1574 the Earl of Southampton noted that the area was "Devoid of
all habitation", and as late
