Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the Rugby borough of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on the north-eastern outskirts of Rugby, approximately from Rugby town centre. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,304. Clifton is counted as being part of the Rugby built-up area, but is considered separate from the town.

Location

Clifton bears the distinction of being the most easterly village in

(and of the entire

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level for Statistics, statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditio ...

). The village is located on a fairly steep hill, which at its highest point elevates to above sea level. The

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to the River Tha ...

runs past at the foot of the hill to the south-west. To the north of the village is the River Avon. Around north-east of Clifton is Dow Bridge, where the

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bo ...

(

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...

) crosses the River Avon, and the counties of Warwickshire,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and Leicestershire meet, forming a

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

History

The area around Clifton was settled during Roman times; around one and a half miles north of Clifton is the former Roman town of

Tripontium Tripontium (Latin for "Place of three bridges") was a town in Roman Britain. It lay on the Roman road later called Watling Street (and known today as the A5) at a site now chiefly within the civil parish of Churchover in the English county ...

. The area around Clifton has been suggested as a possible location of the Defeat of Boudica. The name of the village likely derives from 'Cliffe' in Old English signifying rocky ground, and 'Dunsmore' on top of a hill. During the time of Edward the Confessor Clifton was in the hands of Alwyn, the

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

who gave his land at Clifton to

Coventry Priory Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by ...

; monks from which were likely responsible for building a church here dedicated to

St. Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, which at the time of 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 ...

was the mother church to the then smaller settlement of Rugby. That church no longer exists, though the present one (of the same name) dates back to the 13th century, with later additions, including the current

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

which was added in the 16th century replacing a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

which had collapsed in a storm. The church is now

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. The ancient

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 ...

of Clifton included the nearby settlements of Brownsover and Newton; the former is now part of Rugby, and the latter is now a separate

. To the south-east of the village and within the parish was the former Rugby Radio Station, which operated between 1926 and 2007, and is now a large housing development called Houlton. The village was once served by Clifton Mill railway station on the former Rugby and Stamford Railway. The station opened in 1864, and was closed in 1953, and the line in 1966. At the village was once Rugby Racecourse, which was used for horse racing from 1862 until 1936. The

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

steeplechase, now part of the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...

, was held here in 1862.Stevens, Peter, History of the National Hunt Chase 1860-2010, pp. 15–16.

Commerce

Bull Inn, Main Street, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore

In the centre of the village are small shops,

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

's Church (whose registers for which date back to 1594), and the Bull

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, which was originally a farmhouse, and according to a plaque on the entrance it was built in 1598 and became a public house in 1825. There were rooms for travellers and stables for their horses, some evidence of which still survives. There was formerly a second public house, the Red Lion, which was converted to cottages and the Townsend Memorial Hall in the late 19th century. Part of the North

also travels within the boundaries of the village, the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

opened in 1790 but during the 1800s they cut 14 miles off its length straightening it to what is now the most navigated part of the canal system in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Part of the old route subsequently fell into decay, until it was reopened in 2016/2017 by Clifton

Wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (moorings), berths ...

where there is a hire fleet based. Clifton Cruisers has been operating from the site at Clifton Wharf since the early 1970s and now has a cafe & bar, The Canal Lounge at Bridge 66. In Houlton ''The Barn'' is a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

which holds communal classes and clubs and can be hired for parties or events. ''The Tuning Fork'' is a restaurant which is open to the public.The Tuning Fork website
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Education

The village has a primary school, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

which has been in continuous use since 1850. Houlton has a primary school named St Gabriel's. Secondary-age pupils attend schools in Rugby or Houlton School which opened in 2021.

Notable people

* Thomas Carte (1686–1754) English historian * Richard Lindon (1816–1887) Leatherworker, helped develop the modern-day rugby ball.

References

External links

Clifton upon Dunsmore Parish Website
a portal of information and events in the village
Clifton upon Dunsmore Local History Group
A more detailed history of the village
Our Warwickshire page about Clifton-upon-Dunsmore
includes articles and old photographs {{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Civil parishes in Warwickshire Borough of Rugby