Clophill, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Clophill, a parish in Bedfordshire, on the river Ivel, S½ miles W of Shefford station on the M.R., and 4 E of Ampthill, under which it has a post and money order office; telegraph office, Silsoe. Acreage, 2425; population, 1068. There was anciently a small priory, and there are at Castle Hill or Cainhoe traces of an ancient castle of the Albinis. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; value, £375. Patron, Countess Cowper. The church is a handsome edifice in the Perpendicular style, built in 1848. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Bedfordshire | |
| Diocese | Ely | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Clophill St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Flitt |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1568.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Clophill: Baptisms 1567-1966, Marriages 1567-1998, Burials 1567-1891, Banns 1840-2001. Transcripts in either book or microfiche form for registers prior to 1813 can be purchased from the BLARS (see website for details).
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary was erected in 1848 by public subscription, of the sandstone peculiar to the Wrest estate: it is in the late Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave and south aisle, with an embattled tower, containing 2 bells and octagonal tower attached rising above the former, also embattled: the old church of St. Mary (now used for burials only) contains several interesting memorial tablets to the Rev. Charles Fletcher M.A. 1753, the Rev. William Pierce Nethersole, vicar of Pulloxhill, 1799, and another to members of the family of the Rev. Ezekiel Rouse: the roof is of ancient oak.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Clophill was in Ampthill Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Clophill from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Clophill (St. Mary))
- Kelly's Directory of Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Northamptonshire, 1914
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Clophill are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Bedfordshire papers online:
- Bedfordshire Times and Independent
- Biggleswade Chronicle
- Luton Times and Advertiser
- Luton News and Bedfordshire Chronicle
Poor Law
Clophill was in Ampthill Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Ampthill Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Ampthill Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.