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Clifton

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"Clifton with Glapton Parish. Clifton is a small village on the south bank of the Trent, four miles south west of Nottingham, and contains a number of rural cottages, finely shaded with trees, and also a few villa-looking residences. Near it is Clifton Hall, the beautiful seat of Sir Juckes Granville Juckes Clifton, Bart, deeply embosomed in ancient groves of oak, fir and elm, and commanding most extensive prospects over the Trent, the town of Nottingham, and the adjacent counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire. You are led to this delightful spot from Nottingham, through Clifton Grove, an avenue of trees a mile in length, upon the gentle swells of the earth covered with green sward, and broad enough for six carriages to drive abreast. Near the upper end of this avenue, the cliff overhangs the Trent, whose silver streams meanders most pleasingly around it. "Here", we are told by Throsby, "tradition says, the Clifton Beauty, who was debauched and murdered by her sweetheart, was hurled down the precipice into her watery grave". The place has long been held in great veneration by lovers, and the story is the subject of one of the earliest and longest poems of the late Henry Kirk White, who often visited the spot. The Hall, which has been the seat of the Clifton family for many centuries, stands upon a rock of gypsum, curiously interspersed in many places by beautiful spar. The centre of the principal front is ornamented by ten handsome columns of the Doric order.
The church, dedicated to St Mary, stands close to the mansion, and though ancient, is yet in good preservation. In 1846 it was restored and beautified at the sole expense of the patron, Sir J.G.J. Clifton, Bart. It is built in the form of a cross, with a lofty tower in which are four bells. Here is the family vault of the Cliftons, in which are deposited several generations, its entrance bearing the date of 1632. The Rectory is valued in the King's books at £21 6s 10½d, now at £405, and has about 150 acres of glebe. The Rev. Edwin P. Dennis, B.C.L., is the incumbent and resides at the rectory house, a neat mansion in the village."
[WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]

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Archives & Libraries

The Library at Nottingham will prove useful in your research.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Wilford sub-district of the Basford Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1851H.O. 107 / 2128
1861R.G. 9 / 2446
1871R.G. 10 / 3497
1891R.G. 12 / 2680
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Church History

  • The 1086 Domesday Book tells us that there was a priest and a church here.
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  • A new church was buit in the 13th century and dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.
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  • The church was restored in 1884.
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  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of St Mary's Church on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2009.
     
  • Clifton St. Francis church is modern structure consecrated on 17th May 1957.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish registers date from 1538.
     
  • The parish was in the rural deanery of West Bingham.
     
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Wilford sub-district of the Basford Registration District.
     
  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
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Description & Travel

Clifton with Clapton is a village and a parish on the south-east bank of the River Trent about 4 miles south-west of Nottingham and 16 miles north-east of Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

  • There is extensive bus service from Nottingham city centre.
     
  • Check the Village website for bus schedules and other information.
     
  • J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Village Hall on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2016. Stop by when it is open and ask for a schedule of forth-coming events.
     
You can see pictures of Clifton which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

English tv acress and Disney movie co-star Samantha Jane MORTON was born in CLIFON on 3 May 1977 to the third child of Pamela (née MALLEK), a factory worker, and Peter MoORTON. She lived with her father until she was eight, when she was made a ward of court because neither of her parents could care for her and her siblings.[9] Her father was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother was involved in a violent relationship with her second husband; as a result, she never lived with her parents again. She attended West Bridgford Comprehensive School and joined the Central Junior Television Workshop when she was 13. Moving to London at sixteen, MORTON applied to numerous drama schools, including RADA, without success. In 1991, she attended Clarendon College of Performing Arts

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History

  • This place is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as having a church and a mill.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of Holme Pit pond on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2009.
     
  • May Day festivities have a long tradition in Clifton. The Nottingham Daily Express reported this in 1913:
"One of the most charming survivals of the days that we recall as more picturesque than ours is the ancient May Day Festival in Clifton. And for a more appropriately beautiful setting than the old village green you could search the whole county in vain." That year, the May Queen was Dorothy MOSS, who was led in a procession to the centre of the green, while the maypole itself was carried by "six stalwart scarlet and white-clad henchmen". The article continued: "Her Majesty then gave the signal for the start of the revels, which were participated in by 50 or 60 children." They performed the age-old maypole dances, the Spider's Web, the Water Wheel and the Gipsies' Tent, the Single Plait and Double Plait.
  • The Nottingham Journal reported this in 1929:
"Clifton is one of the few English villages in which the traditional ceremonies are carried out in their entirety."
  • J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Crusdader Pub. on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2016.
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Manors

  • In 1881, Clifton Hall was the seat of Sir Juckes Granville Juckes Clifton, Bart, commanding extensive views over the Trent, the town of Nottingham, and the adjacent counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
     
  • The CLIFTON family held Clifton Hall for 700 years.
     
  • Karen Chantrey WOOD has a photograph of Clifton Hall on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2000.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK541348 (Lat/Lon: 52.907917, -1.197038), Clifton which are provided by:

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Military History

In 1885 this parish was home to Sergt.-Major John WELLS, a drill instructor to the South Notts Yeomanry.

A stone tablet on the side of the Dovecote lists all from Clifton who served during the Great War.

There is no war memorial in Clifton St. Francis church.

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Military Records

The following men from this parish died in WWI:

  1. Frederick Samuel ALLEN
  2. Frank BILBIE
  3. Fred BILBIE
  4. Ernest BLACKWELL
  5. James BRADLEY
  6. Gervase Ronald BRUCE
  7. Cecil RECKLESS
  8. Joseph RECKLESS
  9. Thomas STEVENSON
  10. George Frederick THOMPSON
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in county Nottingham.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient Rushcliffe Wapentake (Hundred) in the southern division of the county.
     
  • In April, 1935, this Civil Parish was enlarged by 119 acres incorporated after the abolition of Chilwell Civil Parish.
     
  • In April, 1952, this Civil Parish was abolished and all 379 acres were amalgamated into Barton in Fabis Civil Parish.
     
  • Currently, the village and parish are managed as part of the Nottingham City Council.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • In 1709 George WELLS founded Almshouses for five aged women. These were still operating in 1912.
     
  • The Common Land was enclosed here in 1756.
     
  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Nottingham petty session hearings.
     
  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the Basford Poor Law Union.
     
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Population

 YearInhabitants
1801381
1811399
1841419
1851401
1871390
1881391
1901383
1911350
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Schools

In 1959 the Nottingham College of Education began at Clifton. In 1975, Trent Polytechnic College amalgamated with Nottingham College of Education and in 1988, the official name changed to 'Nottingham Polytechnic'. Under the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 the institution officially became 'Nottingham Trent University'.

On 20 July 2011, Smantha MORTON received an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from Nottingham Trent University, "in recognition of her internationally successful acting career".