Clophill
Village in Bedfordshire, England
title: "Clophill" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-bedfordshire", "civil-parishes-in-bedfordshire", "central-bedfordshire-district"] description: "Village in Bedfordshire, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-bedfordshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clophill" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Village in Bedfordshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| country | England |
| official_name | Clophill |
| coordinates | |
| os_grid_reference | TL086380 |
| static_image_name | Green Man Public House - geograph.org.uk - 276363.jpg |
| static_image_caption | Clophill |
| population | 1,750 |
| population_ref | |
| 1,738 (2011 Census) | |
| region | East of England |
| unitary_england | Central Bedfordshire |
| lieutenancy_england | Bedfordshire |
| constituency_westminster | Mid Bedfordshire |
| post_town | BEDFORD |
| postcode_district | MK45 |
| postcode_area | MK |
| dial_code | 01525 |
| :: |
| country = England | official_name = Clophill | coordinates = | os_grid_reference = TL086380 | static_image_name = Green Man Public House - geograph.org.uk - 276363.jpg | static_image_caption = Clophill | population = 1,750 | population_ref = 1,738 (2011 Census) | region = East of England | unitary_england = Central Bedfordshire | lieutenancy_england = Bedfordshire | constituency_westminster = Mid Bedfordshire | post_town = BEDFORD | postcode_district = MK45 | postcode_area = MK | dial_code = 01525
Clophill is a village and civil parish clustered on the north bank of the River Flit, Bedfordshire, England. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clopelle. "Clop" likely means 'tree-stump' in Old English. However, it also has cognate terms for clay, with which the soil of mid Bedfordshire is rich.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Oldrectory_clophill.JPG" caption="The Old Rectory"] ::
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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Clophillsign.JPG" caption="Entering Clophill]] The contiguous housing of Clophill Road and its side streets falls into the civil and ecclesiastical parishes of [[Maulden]].[https://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/?lat=52.03&lon=-0.44 Parish Map: Maulden] The Church of England"] ::
Church
St Mary's old church
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Clophillchurch.JPG" caption="St Mary's old church"] ::
Main article: St Mary's Church, Clophill
The old St Mary's 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.
Active churches
The new St Mary's church is in the High Street, built 1848–1849. The current rector is Lynda Klimas. 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.
Clophill Methodist Church has an active congregation, social meetings on site and in the schoolroom and was built in about the year 1930. It joins with St Mary's Church in some major services.
Education
The majority of the community is in the catchment zone for Robert Bloomfield Academy.
Notable residents
- 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 2023/24 season has nine teams (U6 to U18) playing in the Mid Beds Mini League, Chiltern Junior 7s and Beds Youth Saturday League.
In the summer of 2022, Clophill St Mary's Lower School and Clophill United joined forces to form one club affiliated with the Bedfordshire Football Association. The aim of the merger being to secure football in the village for children from reception to under 18, providing continuity for teams as they develop over the years, especially as they graduate from lower school.
References
- Central Bedfordshire Council, [http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/statistics/population.aspx Population of Central Bedfordshire] {{webarchive. link. (10 December 2010 , estimate for 2009.)
- "Civil Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
- [https://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/?lat=52.03&lon=-0.44 Parish Map: Maulden] The Church of England
- (11 February 2010). "Locals campaign to restore Clophill church ruins". [[BBC Online]].
- [https://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/?lat=52.03&lon=-0.42 Parish Map: Clophill] The Church of England
- "North Bedfordshire Circuit - The Methodist Church".
- "Admission Arrangements September 2025". Bedfordshire Schools Trust.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::