Clipstone in north
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
is a small ex-coal mining village built on the site of an old army base and close to the site of a medieval royal palace. The population of the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
was 3,469 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,665 at the 2011 census.
History
Clipstone is a small village in north-west
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. The earliest historical reference to the settlement is in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, where the village is mentioned as "Clipestune".
Subsequent written sources use the forms "Clipestone", "Clippeston", "Clipiston". The place-name Clipstone seems to contain an
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
personal name, ''Klyppr'', with ''tun'' (Old English), an enclosure or farmstead, so 'Klyppr's farm or settlement'.
Pre-historic period
The earliest date-able material from Clipstone is from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. These pieces of material were a spearhead
[Nottinghamshire Historic Environment Record, 5965] and an arrowhead. There is also a suspected
ring ditch
In archaeology, a ring ditch is a trench of circular or penannular plan, cut into bedrock. They are usually identified through aerial photography either as soil marks or cropmarks. When excavated, ring ditches are usually found to be the ploughedâ ...
in the vicinity of New Clipstone which is assumed to be a ploughed out
round barrow
A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...
.
The National Mapping Project data as provided by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
shows a number of
cropmarks
Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch marks, soil marks an ...
recorded from
aerial photography
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...
in the northern quarter of Clipstone parish, representing rectilinear field systems associated with smaller stock enclosures and perhaps domestic sites. Typologically, and from their orientation, it is assumed that these are part of the brickwork plan field system from the late
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, which stretches across the Sherwood Sandstones.
Roman period
Pottery of the period is known from Clipstone due to
Philip Rahtz
Philip Arthur Rahtz (11 March 1921 – 2 June 2011) was a British archaeologist.
Rahtz was born in Bristol. After leaving Bristol Grammar School, he became an accountant before serving with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. D ...
's excavation in 1956
[ Rahtz (1960), p. 29.] and Trent and Peak Archaeology's watching brief and fieldwalking in 1991,
[Sheppard, R., (1991) Unpublished archive of archaeological watching brief prior to monument underpinning (Held by Nottinghamshire County Council)] however the context of the finds has never been understood. There have also been metal detector finds within the parish of two
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
brooches and a small
coin hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention o ...
and arrowhead. The adjacent parish of Mansield Woodhouse contains a suspected
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
(Leeming Lane), with an associated
marching camp
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
at Roman Bank. Further to the north-west a small
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
site was exposed in 1780 by the antiquarian Major
Hayman Rooke
Major Hayman Rooke (20 February 1723 – 18 September 1806) was a British soldier and antiquarian who became an antiquary on his retirement from the British Army, Army. The Major Oak is named after him.
Biography
Rooke was born on 20 February 17 ...
.
[ Thoroton (1972), pp. 308–320.]
Early Medieval period
Four pieces of late Saxon shelly ware pottery were recorded in 1991
during fieldwalking of Castlefield, although it is unlikely that these represent anything more than a background scatter associated with the manuring of the open fields. These four pieces of pottery are actually
Potterhanworth
Potterhanworth is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 839. It is situated south-east from Lincoln.
The hamlet of Potterhanworth Booths ...
Ware, dating to the 13th–15th century Prior to Domesday, the two manors of Clipstone were held by Osbern and Ulsi and the value was set at 60 shillings (£3).
Ulsi in particular was a reasonably wealthy landowner and held manors at
Greasley
Greasley is a civil parish north west of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. Although it is thought there was once a village called Greasley, there is no settlement of that name today as it was destroyed by the Earl of Rutland. The built up ...
,
Strelley
Strelley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Broxtowe and City of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is to the west of Nottingham. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 653. It is also the name of t ...
, Sutton and Hodsock.
Domesday
The landowner in 1086 was
Roger de Busli
Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Norman baron who participated in the conquest of England in 1066.
Life
Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as Bully (near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, mentioned ...
,
one of the great
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
landowners who held 163 estates in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and south Yorkshire.
King John's Palace
While there is no conclusive proof of the medieval royal residence being built by
King John King John may refer to:
Rulers
* John, King of England (1166–1216)
* John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237)
* John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314)
* John I of France (15–20 November 1316)
* John II of France (1319–1364)
* John I o ...
, there were known to be 1400 acres of forested deer park (and 70 acres of rabbit warrens) next to the village, which were used by royal hunting parties. Moreover, it is said that King John held a parliament at the nearby
Parliament Oak
The Parliament Oak is a veteran tree in Sherwood Forest. It is reputed to have been the site for Wikt:impromptu, impromptu-parliaments held by kings John of England, John and Edward I. In the 19th century the tree was propped-up by William Ben ...
in 1212, and also
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
in 1290.
Industrialisation
George Sitwell
Sir George Reresby Sitwell, 4th Baronet (27 January 1860 – 9 July 1943) was a British antiquarian writer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1895.
Biography
Sitwell was born in London, the son of Sir Si ...
,
ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain.
The ironmaster was usually a large ...
mined iron locally and built a furnace here in the 17th century.
Clipstone Riot 1767
In 1767 much of the local forest was managed by the
Duke of Portland
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
for the production of timber. In the 1760s there were a number of prosecutions of local people for entering the forest park and causing disorders. In 1767 labourers from
Warsop
Warsop is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield district, Nottinghamshire, England, on the outskirts of the remnants of Sherwood Forest.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): At the 2001 census it had a population of 12,365, reducin ...
and
Worksop
Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...
were involved in the Clipstone Riot. As the Duke of Portland was at the time involved in making the place more profitable for himself, and so impacting on the timber rights of the commoners, this may have been the cause of the riots.
General description
Clipstone is split into two areas – New Clipstone, approximately four miles from Mansfield town, and
Kings Clipstone
Kings Clipstone is a settlement and civil parish, in the Newark and Sherwood district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. The parish lies in the west of the county, and north west within the district. It is 122 miles north of London, 15 ...
slightly further away, formerly known as Old Clipstone until 2003 when the ancient name of Kings Clipstone was resurrected. Both settlements lie alongside the
B6030 road.
New Clipstone (commonly known as just 'Clipstone') is the most diverse area with both old and new homes, a library, primary school and village hall as well as a few shops and pubs, including ''Clipstone Welfare'', which was used for scenes in the 2007 film ''
Control
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controlling ...
''. The old
Clipstone Colliery
Clipstone Colliery was a coal mine in the village of Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, part of the area known as The Dukeries. The colliery opened in 1922 and operated until 2003. It was built by the Bolsover Colliery Company, transferred to the Natio ...
site lies within the New Clipstone area, still having the tall prominent headstocks.
On the southern edge of the village is
Vicar Water Country Park, developed from Vicar Water and the former
spoil tip
A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...
s from the colliery, forming a landscape of hills and ponds with a controversial 'Golden Hand' sculpture, said to represent the village's mining heritage.
Most of the village is within
Newark and Sherwood
Newark and Sherwood is a local government district and is the largest district in Nottinghamshire, England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal borough of Newark with Newark Rural District and Southwell Rural ...
district council area, with a small section in the west near
Forest Town in the
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
council area. The
Garibaldi College
The Garibaldi School (formerly Garibaldi College) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form built in the 1960s. It is situated near to the edge Clipstone village, Nottinghamshire (part of Newark and Sherwood District Council administ ...
is just inside Mansfield district. A large modern housing development close to New Clipstone but previously considered as part of 'Old Clipstone'/Kings Clipstone was reclassified as being in Clipstone after a boundary realignment in late 2009.
The local football team is
Clipstone Welfare. The village is close to
Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.
The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...
. Nearby is the medium-wave transmitter for
Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire.
It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on London Road ...
. There is also a slaughterhouse.
Kings Clipstone (previously known as Old Clipstone) is the oldest part in a rural setting with some old stone buildings, noted for its relatively 'undeveloped' character. The local ''Dog and Duck'' pub is the only social place to meet.
Clipstone Camp
Located on what was to become Clipstone Colliery, Clipstone Camp was established when work on developing the mine, started in 1912, was abandoned following the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The
Duke of Portland
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
offered the land for use as a military training camp, which was eventually opened in February, 1915.
The first troops stationed there were the
Royal Fusiliers
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881.
The regiment served in many wars ...
. At its height the camp could accommodate 30,000 soldiers.
[
The camp had segregated 'lines' for whole individual battlions, self-contained with sleeping quarters, cook houses, mess rooms and parade grounds. Training facilities included mock-trenches, gunnery ranges and recreation with swimming in Vicar's Pond.]["Clipstone honours war contribution". ''Chad'', 26 June 2013, p.22 Accessed 13 May 2022]
Following the armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
troops from the Queens Royal West Surrey 4th/5th Reserve Battalion and the York and Lancaster Regiment
The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...
were involved in a mutinous riot at the camp, following disquiet at the slow rate of being demobilised
Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...
.
Plans were started in 2013 to provide a memorial to those who trained in Clipstone.
Clipstone Colliery
The pit closed in April 2003. Since 1993 it had been owned by RJB Mining (later UK Coal
UK Coal Production Ltd, formerly UK Coal plc, was the largest coal mining business in the United Kingdom. The company was based in Harworth, in Nottinghamshire. The company was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The successor company that con ...
). The present headstocks, Grade Two listed structures, were at the time of completion in 1953 the tallest in Europe. They can be seen from miles around. There were a number of attempts by then-owners, ''Welbeck Estates'', to demolish due to the expense of the upkeep. During September 2014, an epetition
An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
was submitted to the British government, to raise public support and awareness, which ran until March 2015.
In December 2020 it was announced that the buildings, headstocks and surrounding land had been purchased by a Mansfield-based developer, with plans are to save the headstocks and redevelop the site as a "multi-purpose leisure facility."[Spridgeon, Dale]
'Leisure plans for old mine site at Clipstone Headstocks following purchase'
''Mansfield and Ashfield Chad'', 6 January 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Clipstone Colliery Sidings railway station was the station that served the mine.
King John's Palace
King John's Palace is the ruined walls of a former medieval royal residence previously used for hunting trips into Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.
The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...
near to Kings Clipstone. The ruin appeared on an episode of the archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
TV show ''Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
''.
References
External links
Vicar Water Country Park
Vicar Water Country Park at Newark and Sherwood District Council website
Local Community website.
Local website with photos of village.
{{authority control
Villages in Nottinghamshire
Newark and Sherwood