Clent is a village and

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 authorit ...

in the

Bromsgrove District Bromsgrove is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Bromsgrove. It borders the built up area of Birmingham to the north. Other places in the district include Alvechurch, Aston Fields, B ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, England, southwest of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and close to the edge of the

West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West Midland ...

. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,600.

Parish history

The

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Clent and Broome were once an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, completely surrounded by Worcestershire, having been seized by the Sheriff of Staffordshire before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

. This anomaly was addressed in 1844 when it was belatedly returned to Worcestershire. Clent had, however, always remained part of the Worcester Diocese.

Geography

Because of the hilly

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

the village consists of several distinct

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

. These are Upper Clent (Clatterbach and the area around the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St. Leonard), Lower Clent, Holy Cross, Adams Hill and Walton Pool. The Civil Parish of Clent also included part of the village of

West Hagley Hagley is a large village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in ...

, the population of which is about half that of the whole parish. On the first of April 2016, this part of the parish was transferred to the Parish of Hagley. Though in the ancient

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Clent, that area is now part of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

parish of Broome. Part of the parish is an area of agricultural lowland, but to the northwest the ground rises forming the

Clent Hills The Clent Hills lie south-west of Birmingham city centre in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen, both in the West Midlands conurbation (and also historically in Worcestershire). The Clent Hills rang ...

(now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

), which is a popular destination for walkers.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

Education

Sunfield Children's Home is located in Clent, a charitable school for children with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

and complex learning needs. There is also a small primary school located in Holy Cross, called Clent Parochial Primary School, with just over 100 pupils ranging from Reception (age 4) to Year 6 (age 11), after which the pupils feed into

Haybridge High School Haybridge High School and Sixth Form is an 11–18 mixed academy school with approximately 1,250 students (420 in the sixth form) in Hagley, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom, serving North West Worcestershire and the West Midlands. The s ...

, the local secondary school, in the neighbouring village of

Hagley Hagley is a large village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in 2 ...

.Clent Parochial Primary School

Notable residents

Notable residents of Clent include: * John Amphlet, High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1805 * Richard Fowler (5 March 1887 – 27 October 1970),

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

James Higgs-Walker James Arthur Higgs-Walker (31 July 1892 – 3 September 1979) was an English first-class cricketer who played in two matches for Worcestershire, one each side of the First World War. His first match, and only County Championship appearance ...

(31 July 1892 – 3 September 1979),

* Alan Todd (3 June 1900 – 14 August 1976),

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician

References

External links

photos of Clent and surrounding area on geograph
{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire