King's Cliffe (variously spelt Kings Cliffe, King's Cliff, Kings Cliff, Kingscliffe) 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 ...

on Willow Brook, a tributary of the

River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...

, about northeast of

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby, the district's la ...

. The parish adjoins the county boundary with the

City of Peterborough The City of Peterborough, is a district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The district is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough, but also covers a wider area of o ...

and the village is about west of the city centre. The village is not far from the Northamptonshire boundaries with both

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, and is about south of Stamford.

Population

The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 1,137 people, increasing to 1,202 at the 2011 Census. This later increased to 1,585 at the 2021 Census. The 1871 census recorded a parish population of 1,259. The 1891 census recorded the parish population as having fallen to 1,082, occupying 262 "inhabited houses" King's Cliffe is very small but is growing in size. There is a school named King's Cliffe Endowed Primary. It used to be located next to John Wooding's Groceries but in recent years, a new building was developed on King's Forest. This new school is very large in size and is very advanced.

Parish church

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of All Saints has a central tower that is

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

, with late 13th century upper parts and

broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...

. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

has a

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

west window and there are north and south aisles with 14th century arcades. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

is also 14th century. Later features are the

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

, roof and remodelling of the north and south arches supporting the tower. Inside the church is a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

erected in 1623 to the Thorpe family, whose descendant

John Thorpe John Thorpe or Thorp (c.1565–1655?; fl.1570–1618) was an English architect. Life Little is known of his life, and his work is dubiously inferred, rather than accurately known, from a folio of drawings in the Sir John Soane's Museum, to whic ...

(1565–1655) was a notable

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and Jacobean architect.

Economic and social history

Hall Yard Farmhouse was built in 1603. Inside the house, Dr Law's Music Room has an 18th-century Georgian coved ceiling with decoration in the style of

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. Law's Chapel, also 18th century, is nearby. Parts of King's Cliffe Manor House are early 17th century. In the summer of 1845, the Reverend Miles Joseph Berkeley, the rector of All Saints' church, proposed, after observing potatoes from near the village struck by

potato blight ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by '' Alternaria solani'', is also often called " ...

, that the causative agent of the blight was a fungus. This was contradictory to theories at the time, which suggested that the fungus was merely a symptom of decay, and not the causative agent of the blight. Berkeley labelled the fungus he found ''Botrytis infestans,'' now known as ''Phytophthora infestans''. King's Cliffe is unusual in having three sets of

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

s. The John Thorpe Almshouses were built in 1668, the Widows' Almshouses in 1749 and the Spinsters' Almshouses in 1754. The Widows' and Spinsters' almshouses were part of a set of charities founded by Rev. Dr

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...

(1686–1761) and his disciple, Mrs Elizabeth Hutcheson. A house dating from about 1700 was made a Schoolmaster's House in 1745, and next to it the Boys' School was built in 1748. From 1752 the Schoolmaster's House became Law's Library, which housed Law's religious books and lent them to people of King's Cliffe and neighbouring towns. King's Cliffe railway station was on a branch line that ran between and . The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

opened it in 1879 and

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways closed it in 1966. RAF King's Cliffe was opened in 1942 and returned to agricultural use in 1959. It was about east of the village.

Notable residents

Miles Joseph Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at ...

FRS –

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

and Perpetual Curate (Vicar) of Apethorpe and

Woodnewton Woodnewton is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Essentially a pair of parallel streets, the village lies to the north of a small stream, the Willow Brook (River Nene), Willow Brook, in Rockingham Forest. It is in North Northamptonshire. ...

who lived in Kingscliffe 1833–1869, opening a school in 1838. * Ruth Ellen Berkeley (1845–1914) – scientific botanical illustrator was born and brought up in the village. *

Henry Bonney Henry Kaye Bonney Doctor of Divinity, D.D. (22 May 1780 – 24 December 1862) was an English churchman, photographer and author. Life Bonney was born on 22 May 1780, the son of Henry Kaye Bonney, rector of Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, and pre ...

D.D. (1780–1862) – churchman and author * James Humphreys – English crime writer, a former resident of the neighbouring village of Apethorpe. His novel ''Sleeping Partner'' is partly set in King's Cliffe. *

(1686–1761) –

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

divine *

(1565–1655) – architect *

Fenech-Soler Fenech-Soler were an English electropop band from King's Cliffe, Northamptonshire, England, that formed in 2006 and consists of two members: Ross Duffy and Ben Duffy. Founding members Daniel Fenech-Soler and Andrew Lindsay left the band in 2016 ...

– electronic band *

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is a jud ...

– Author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen. Currently living in King's Cliffe.

Village events

Kings Cliffe has a number of events that occur annually. These include but are not limited to: * The Village Duck Race – A charity event raising money for The Underground. * Cliffe Fest – A family friendly festival raising money for Kings Cliffe Endowed Primary School and local charities. * Plant Sale – A charity event run by The Gardening Club raising funds for Kings Cliffe Parish Church. * Village Bonfire – A charity event raising funds for the Kings Cliffe Parish Church. * Village Produce Show – A village event run by the Gardening Club.

References

External links

Parish Council
King's Cliffe Parish Council Website
Village Forum
King's Cliffe Village Forum
Geograph images
database of images of the village and surrounding areas
King's Cliffe Heritage
– local history resource {{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire Civil parishes in Northamptonshire