Clophill

Clophill
Clophill
Clophill Location within Bedfordshire
Population	1,750 [1] 1,738 (2011 Census)[2]
OS grid reference	TL086380
Unitary authority	Central Bedfordshire
Ceremonial county	Bedfordshire
Region	East
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	Mid Bedfordshire
List of places UK England Bedfordshire 52°01′37″N 0°25′30″W / 52.027°N 0.425°W / 52.027; -0.425Coordinates: 52°01′37″N 0°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 Flit,^[a] Bedfordshire, England. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clopelle. "Clop", ostensibly surviving the Great Vowel Shift,^{[clarification needed]} likely means tree-stump in Old English.^{[citation needed]} However, it also has cognate terms for clay,^{[citation needed]} with which the soil of mid Bedfordshire is rich.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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[]

The old St Marys 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. Dean Henley. 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 Marys Church in some major services.

Public houses and restaurants[]

on the Green/High Street

• The Flying Horse
• The Green Man - La Stalla (restaurant) - closed August 2020

on Back Street

• The Stone Jug

Notable residents[]

This article's list of residents may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are residents, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (February 2018)

• Boss Meyer, educator and cricketer. Founder of Millfield School.
• David L. Englin, politician
• Jimmy Husband, (born 15 October 1947), retired professional footballer
• John van Weenen, OMT MBE, (born 26 August 1941, Enfield, Middlesex), 8th Dan karateka and humanitarian
• Sir Douglas Frederick Howard, KCMG, MC, (15 February 1897 – 26 December 1987), diplomat

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 2020/21 season has five teams (U15s to 11s) playing in the Beds Youth Saturday League and the Chiltern Junior 7s.

Notes and References[]

Further reading[]

• Watt, Colin (28 September 2012). "Lost Heritage". Clophill History.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clophill.

• Official Clophill Parish Council Website
• Clophill pages at the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service
• Official Clophill Village Church Website
• British History article on Clophill, excerpt from 'A History of the County of Bedford Vol 2', written 1908 by William Page Clophill History
• Official Clophill United FC Website (Youth Teams)