Clophill

Last updated

Clophill
Green Man Public House - geograph.org.uk - 276363.jpg
Clophill
Bedfordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Clophill
Location within Bedfordshire
Population1,750  [1]
1,738 (2011 Census) [2]
OS grid reference TL086380
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BEDFORD
Postcode district MK45
Dialling code 01525
Police Bedfordshire
Fire Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance East of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire
52°01′37″N0°25′30″W / 52.027°N 0.425°W / 52.027; -0.425

Clophill is a village and civil parish clustered on the north bank of the River Flit, [lower-alpha 1] Bedfordshire, England. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clopelle. "Clop" likely means 'tree-stump' in Old English. However, it also has cognate terms for clay, with which the soil of mid Bedfordshire is rich.

Contents

The Old Rectory Oldrectory clophill.JPG
The Old Rectory

Extent and demography

In the 1851 census, the men of the parish numbered 560; of these, 238 were agricultural labourers; women numbered. In the 2011 Census the population was 1,750.

Entering Clophill Clophillsign.JPG
Entering Clophill

The contiguous housing of Clophill Road and its side streets falls into the civil and ecclesiastical parishes of Maulden. [3]

Church

St Mary's old church

St Mary's old church Clophillchurch.JPG
St Mary's old church

The old St Mary's Church was built around 1350, and replaced by a new church in the 1840s (250 m SSW). It gradually fell into ruin, and as an inactive church, had restoration carried out for secular purposes in the early 2010s. [4]

Active churches

The new St Mary's church is in the High Street, built 1848–1849. The current rector is Rev. Lynda Klimas. It is the only church of the Church of England parish, which reflects the civil parish having the A6 Bedford Road as its western limit. [5]

Clophill Methodist Church has an active congregation, social meetings on site and in the schoolroom and was built in about the year 1930. [6] It joins with St Mary's Church in some major services.

Public houses and restaurants

on the Green/High Street
on Back Street

Notable residents

Sports and leisure facilities

The Greensand Ridge Walk and the Greensand Cycle Way pass through Clophill.

The village has a youth football club called Clophill United FC. The 2023/24 season has nine teams (U6 to U18) playing in the Mid Beds Mini League, Chiltern Junior 7s and Beds Youth Saturday League.

In the summer of 2022, Clophill St Mary's Lower School and Clophill United joined forces to form one club affiliated with the Bedfordshire Football Association. The aim of the merger being to secure football in the village for children from reception to under 18, providing continuity for teams as they develop over the years, especially as they graduate from lower school.

Notes and references

  1. A sub-tributary of the Great Ouse
  1. Central Bedfordshire Council, Population of Central Bedfordshire Archived 10 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine , estimate for 2009.
  2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. Parish Map: Maulden The Church of England
  4. "Locals campaign to restore Clophill church ruins". BBC Online . 11 February 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. Parish Map: Clophill The Church of England
  6. "North Bedfordshire Circuit - The Methodist Church". www.northbedsmethodist.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flitwick</span> Human settlement in England

Flitwick is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling Flytwyk appears in 1381.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kempston</span> Human settlement in England

Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, situated around 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Bedford town centre. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census, and forms part of the wider Bedford built-up area. The River Great Ouse separates it from the Queen's Park area of Bedford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy, Bedfordshire</span> Market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England

Sandy is a town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It lies 8 miles (13 km) to the east of Bedford, 18 miles (29 km) to the south west of Cambridge and 43 miles (69 km) north of Central London. It had a population of 12,171 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ampthill</span> Town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England

Ampthill is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100. It is administered by Ampthill Town Council. The ward of Ampthill which also includes Maulden and Clophill has an estimated population of 13,280 and is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woburn, Bedfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Woburn is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Milton Keynes and 3 miles (5 km) south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everton, Bedfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Everton is a small rural village of about 200 dwellings and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England about 9 miles (14 km) east of the county town of Bedford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Clophill</span> Ruined church in Clophill, England

The present St Mary's Church is located in the centre of the small village of Clophill, between Bedford and Luton in the South Midlands of England. The new church, built in 1848, replaced the old church by order of the Church Commissioners in 1850. The old church building, formally The Church of St Mary The Virgin and known colloquially as Old St Mary's or The Old Parish Church, is at the edge of the village, and is estimated to be around 650 years old. It sits at the crest of the Greensand Ridge, offering views over the surrounding countryside. Its graveyard is a haven for wild flowers and wildlife. After the church moved to the village centre, incorporating various items from the old church building, the old building was converted for use as a mortuary chapel, but in the 1950s it fell into ruin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shefford, Bedfordshire</span> Market town in Bedfordshire, England

Shefford is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 census it had a population of 7,311. It lies 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Bedford. The town gives its name to Shefford, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lidlington</span> Human settlement in England

Lidlington is a small village and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England surrounded by farmland, in the Marston Vale. The hamlets of Boughton End and Thrupp End are also part of the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavenham</span> Human settlement in England

Pavenham is a small village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Bedford. Village amenities consist of St Peter's Church, a pub, Village hall, tennis Club, Cricket Club and golf club. The village is home to many clubs and societies including an active WI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caddington</span> Human settlement in England

Caddington is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton-le-Clay</span> Human settlement in England

Barton-le-Clay is a large village and a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire Borough in Bedfordshire, England, bordering Hertfordshire. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maulden</span> Human settlement in England

Maulden is a village and civil parish located in the county of Bedfordshire. The village is located 1.5 miles east of Ampthill and about 8 miles (13 km) south of Bedford. It has about 1,250 homes and 3130 residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langford, Bedfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Langford is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about 10 miles (16 km) south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census gives the population as 3,091.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northill</span> Human settlement in England

Northill is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about 6.5 miles (10 km) southeast of the county town of Bedford.

Oakley is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about four miles northwest of Bedford along the River Great Ouse. It has a population of 2,493 and is near the villages of Bromham, Milton Ernest, Clapham, Radwell and Felmersham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wixams</span> Human settlement in England

Wixams is a new town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, which has been under construction since early 2007. It is expected to become the third largest settlement in the Borough of Bedford after Bedford itself and Kempston, and one of the largest new settlements founded in England since the British new towns movement of the first twenty five years after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Husborne Crawley</span> Human settlement in England

Husborne Crawley is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, located close to Junction 13 of the M1 motorway. The village touches the borders of the Woburn Abbey estate on one side, and the village of Aspley Guise on the other. The meaning of the Husborne element of the towns name is "warrior stream" and the Crawley element means "crow clearing". It appears as Hussheburn Crawele, in 1421.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southill, Bedfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Southill is a rural village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England; about 8 miles (13 km) south-east of the county town of Bedford.

(Greensand Cycleway) Signs for this route appeared in the first half of 2014. It covers roughly 40 miles (64 km), using minor roads and runs roughly in parallel with its sister walk, the Greensand Ridge Walk. The route traverses Bedfordshire, making brief forays into the neighbouring counties of Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. Its southern endpoint is at Leighton Buzzard and the route runs north-east to Sandy. The waymarker for this route is simply Greensand Cycleway and the depiction of a bicycle on a brown background. There are some smaller, circular waymarkers employed to ensure continuity of the route for cyclists.