CLAPHAM is a village and parish, on the north bank of the river Ouse, 2 miles north west from Bedford, on the road to Higham Ferrers, in the hundred of Stodden, union and county court district of Bedford, rural deanery of Clapham, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely1.
Clapham was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Oakley.
Status: Ancient Parish
Parish church: St. Thomas à Becket
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1696; see also Oakley
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1603
Nonconformists include:
Table of Contents
- Parishes adjacent to Clapham
- Parish History
- Parish Registers
- Parish Records
- Directories
- Maps
- Administration
Parishes adjacent to Clapham
- Oakley
- Bedford St Peter
- Bedford Holy Trinity
- Goldington
- Ravensden
- Bromham Bedfordshire
- Milton Ernest
- Thurleigh
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
CLAPHAM, a parish in the district and county of Bedford; on the river Ouse, and on the Hitchin and Leicester railway, near Oakley r. station, 2¼ miles NNW of Bedford. It has a post office under Bedford. Acres. 1,982. Real property, £3,358. Pop., 502. Houses, 129. The property is much subdivided. Clapham Park is the seat of Earl Ashburnham; and was the place of Dr. Hammond’s imprisonment in 1648. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £270. Patron, Lord John Thynne. The church has an early Norman tower, and was mainly rebuilt in 1861. There are a Wesleyan chapel, and charities £50.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Clapham, 2 m. N.W. Bedford. P. 370.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
Parish Registers
Clapham Parish Registers 1603 – 1812
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
The Post Office Directory of Bedfordshire 1869
CLAPHAM is a village and parish, on the north bank of the river Ouse, 2 miles north west from Bedford, on the road to Higham Ferrers, in the hundred of Stodden, union and county court district of Bedford, rural deanery of Clapham, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely.
The Wesleyans have a small chapel here. There is a daily school for children of both sexes, supported by the Vicar and the Rev John Frederick Dawson.
The chief crops are wheat barley peas beans and oats. Lime burning is carried on and pillow lace is made here. The population in 1861 was 502; the area is 1,948 acres
Parish Clerk Thomas Maddams
Post OFFICE – Thomas Matthews, receiver. Letters through Bedford, delivered at 7 am; dispatched at 5.35 pm. The nearest money order office is at Bedford.
School Annis Peck, mistress
Hinton Alexander esq
Shillito W. esq. Woodlands
COMMERCIAL
Ballingall George farmer
Bandy John farmer
Butt Aaron lime burner
Corby Joseph gardener
Cowley Robert carpenter & rate collector
Dawson George bricklayer
Farrer Daniel baker & shopkeeper
Grant Thomas farmer Church farm
Henman Walter James, manager of Messrs J & F Howard’s Britannia farms
Hilton Samuel carpenter
Jordan Ebenezer blacksmith
Maddams Thomas carpenter & parish clerk
Manton Henry Swan
Matthews Thomas shoe maker & post office
Parrett Eli bricklayer
Pheasey Edwin beer retailer
Poole Benjamin farmer
Ross Alfred, Horse & Groom, & butcher
Ross Robert farmer
Smith Henry shoe maker
Smith Thomas beer retailer
Smith William beer retailer
Stevenson Charles shoe maker & tollgate collector
Stevenson Susan Mrs milliner
Source: The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869
Maps
OS Grid Reference: TL0244952950 (all-numeric format: 502450 252950)
| Service | Map | Topo |
|---|---|---|
| Bing Maps UK | Map | OS maps |
| StreetMap | Map | OS maps |
| Vision of Britain historical maps | Map | OS maps |
| Ordnance Survey | OS maps | |
| Defra’s MAGIC service | Map | |
| National Library of Scotland | OS maps | |
| Old OS maps | OS maps | |
| Old-maps.co.uk | OS plans | |
| Where’s the Path? | Map | |
| SABRE Maps | Map | OS maps |
Administration
- County: Bedfordshire
- Civil Registration District: Bedford
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
- Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
- Rural Deanery: Clapham
- Poor Law Union: Bedford
- Hundred: Stodden
- Province: Canterbury
1. The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869