CLOPHILL is a village and parish about, 3½ miles east from Ampthill, 3½ west from the Shefford station, on the Bedford and Hitchin branch of the Midland railway, and 8½ south from Bedford, in the hundred of Flitt, union and county court district of Ampthill, rural deanery of East Fleete, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely1.
Parish church: St. Mary
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1567
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602
Nonconformists include:
- Primitive Methodist
- Society of Friends/Quaker
- Wesleyan Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
Imperial Gazetteer 1870
CLOPHILL, a parish in Ampthill district, Beds; on the river Ivel, 3½ miles W of Shefford r. station, and 4 E of Ampthill. It has a post office under Ampthill. Acres, 2, 140. Real property, £4, 194. Pop., 1, 169. Houses, 244.
There was anciently a small priory; and there are, at Castle hill or Cainhoe, traces of an ancient castle of the d’Albinis.
The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely. Value, £422. Patron, Countess Cowper. Charities, £39. The church is a handsome edifice in the pointed style, built in 1848.
Source: Imperial Gazetteer 1870.
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Clophill, 2 m. N.E. Selsoe. P. 1066
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
CLOPHILL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Amphill, hundred of Flitt, county of Bedford, 1 mile (N. by E.) from Silsoe; containing 1066 inhabitants.
It comprises by computation 2340 acres, of which about 1400 are arable, and 700 pasture. The soil is light and sandy, with some portions of gravel, clay, and moorland; the surface is rather hilly, and the lower grounds are subject to inundation from the river Ivel, which flows through the parish.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £12; net income, £522; patron, Earl de Grey. The tithes have been commuted for £239, and the glebe contains 70 acres, with a glebehouse. The church stands upon an eminence at some distance from the village.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
At Cainhoe are vestiges of the moated castle of the barons d’Albini: the hill on which it stood is high and steep, and overgrown with coppice-wood. Here was also a religious house, probably a cell to St. Alban’s Abbey.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848.
Parish Registers
Clophill Parish Registers 1567-1812
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
The Post Office Directory of Bedfordshire 1869
CLOPHILL is a village and parish about, 3½ miles east from Ampthill, 3½ west from the Shefford station, on the Bedford and Hitchin branch of the Midland railway, and 8½ south from Bedford, in the hundred of Flitt, union and county court district of Ampthill, rural deanery of East Fleete, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely.
The church of St Mary was erected in 1848 by public subscription, of the sandstone peculiar to the Wrest estate; it is in Perpendicular style, with a tower and 2 bells, and is in a more central position than the old church, which is now only used for the purposes of burial. The register dates from the year 1567.
There are Sunday schools for both boys and girls, which are attended by upwards of 200 children; 40 of the Sunday school children are entirely clothed by the Rev J Mendham.
Parish Clerk, Henry Chapman
Ampthill National School, Isaac Austin, master
CARRIERS TO :-
AMPTHILL – George Hayes, thursday,
BEDFORD – Joseph Olney, saturday
LUTON – George Smith, tuesday & friday
PRIVATE RESIDENTS
Bonfield Charles esq
Lashbrooke Mrs
Lockwood Rev Charles Blomfield curate
Mendbam Rev John MA rector The Rectory
Mendham Mrs Clophill house
Prosser Miss
COMMERCIAL
Appleby George blacksmith
Bottoms William cowkeeper
Brittain Robert tailor
Calverley Thomas upholsterer
Chapman Henry shoe maker
Chapman William shoe maker
Crouch Edward farmer Cainhoe
Daniels William carpenter
Doggett Vincent market gardener
Dunham John beer retailer
Ecott Sarah Mrs shopkeeper
Garner George beer retailer
Goss Ebenezer shopkeeper
Gudgin Charles butcher
Gudgin Mary Mrs Compasses
Haddow Joseph draper & grocer
Hill John farmer North field
Hinton Thomas carpenter
Horn George farmer Warren farm
Horn George jun miller & maltster
Isitt Eliza Mrs shopkeeper
Kingsley Joseph cattle dealer
Lincoln Sarah Mrs shopkeeper
Low John butcher cattle dealer & farmer
Low Robert landowner & armer, Beadlow
Masters Martha Mrs baker
Masters William mealman
Maudlin Elizabeth Mrs shopkeeper
Mitchenall John grocer & draper
Neal Joseph carpenter
Odell Allan blacksmith
Paine John farmer Cainhoe park
Peat James market gardener
Quenby George grocer & baker
Quenby James Liles, baker
Sharp John New inn
Squire John Dann farmer Brickwall farm
Swannell Frederick tailor
Titmas Frederick shopkeeper
Upton William market gardener
Varney David Green Man & butcher
Whitbread James machine & agricultural implement maker
Wooton James tailor
Worsley Thomas Flying Horse
Source: The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869
Maps
OS Grid Reference: TL0804537727 (all-numeric format: 508046 237727)
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: Ampthill
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
- Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
- Rural Deanery: Fleete
- Poor Law Union: Ampthill
- Hundred: Flitt
- Province: Canterbury
1. The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869