Clapham 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Borough of Bedford Bedford, or the Borough of Bedford, is a Districts of England, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Bedford Borough Council, ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England. It had a population of 3,643 as at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,560 at the 2011 Census.

Points of interest

RAF Twinwood Farm, a disused airfield on the western outskirts of the village, is where the famous bandleader

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

took off on his last fateful flight, having performed for the American soldiers based at the airfield (51 Operational Training Unit ROYAL AIR FORCE was the main unit based at Twinwood Farm) and at

Bedford Corn Exchange The Corn Exchange is an events and concert venue located on St Paul's Square in the Castle area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a corn exchange, is a Grade II listed building. History In the mid-1840 ...

. The Glenn Miller Museum is now open on site with many events taking place during the summer months. Clapham Park, a large new

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

, was built by James Howard, member of parliament for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

, in 1872. There is also a derelict Italian POW camp, which is now owned by a farmer and has been the victim of

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artists and an abandoned caravan beside the parish

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Sport and recreation

Clapham has a King George V Field in memorial to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. Recently, Towers Gymnasium and Health Club has been built on the road between Clapham and Bedford. It has a Swimming Pool, Sauna, Tennis court and gym equipment. Twinwoods hosts an annual Folk Music Festival, called the Twinwoods Festival, typically over the

August Bank Holiday The August Bank Holiday or Summer Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, part of the statutory bank holiday provision. Originally, the holiday was held on the first Monday of August across the country, but was changed in the lat ...

weekend.

References

External links

Clapham community website

Places I've visited – Clapham
by Ian Meadows
Clapham Historical Society

Twinwood's Music Festival
Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub