Clarborough

Clarborough
Clarborough  Clarborough shown within Nottinghamshire
Population	1,111
OS grid reference	SK 73147 83294
Civil parish	Clarborough
Shire county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	DN22
Police	Nottinghamshire
Fire	Nottinghamshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
List of places UK England Nottinghamshire

Clarborough is a village in the civil parish of Clarborough and Welham, in the district of Bassetlaw, which is located in the county of Nottinghamshire, England.^[4] Clarborough is located 3 miles north-east of Retford, in the East Midlands of England.

The Village

The village of Clarborough has been recognised since 1086 as it was referenced in the Domesday Book as Claueburch or Claureburg.^[5] The main value which the village held during this period was its land. Due to the geographical location of the village, being at the foot of Clarborough Hill, it meant that the land was useful at being well adapted for either grazing, or for agricultural purposes.^[6] By 1769 Clarborough was seen on maps as Charlborough.^[7]

To the south of the village is the hamlet of Welham, with Welham Grange, a remarkably fine and intact house dated 1667. Welham Grange was officially listed as a Grade 2 building by the English Heritage on 1 February 1967.^[8] Welham is also home to the early 19th century building of Welham Hall. The name of Welham hamlet allegedly derived from the well that still exists in Well House, Bonemill Lane, Welham. It appears in Domesday as Wellun (at the spring).

A post windmill was located on Clarborough Hill, which was standing in 1753. It was burnt in 1896.^[9]

The Parish

St John the Baptist Church, Clarborough.^[1]

The parish church of St John the Baptist is of 13th century date, restored in 1874. The Domesday Book survey of 1086 did not mention the establishment of a church, however, this does not rule out the possibility of a place of worship. There is evidence that a church has been established by 1103, due to the fact that half of its income was donated by William de Lovetot.^[10] The church was originally constructed in 1258, when Sewal de Bovil, the Archbishop of York, ordained that the vicar of Clarborough should have the altarage, with a toft and croft lying next to the church-yard, and the tythes of the inclosed crofts of the town.^[11] The next significant date is 1260 when the Anglican parish church of St. John the Baptist came into existence. The Manor Farm which is located close by the church suggests that this area may have been the general core of the village.^[12] The Anglican parish registers dates from 1567 and is in good condition, helping to give a clear history from the parish. The church was restored in 1874 and is a Grade I listed building. There is also a yew tree in the churchyard which is reported to be over 1,000 years old.^[13] A significant change to the nature of the parish occurred in 1828 when the foundation stone was laid for St. Saviour's church which would serve as a chapel of ease at the top of Moorgate in Retford. With the increase in urban population as the 19th century progressed, that part of the parish that was in what is now Retford was too far from St .John the Baptist church for convenient access. St. Saviour's opened for services in 1829 providing a more accessible focus for worship for the Retford end of the parish which now accounted for more than half the whole parish population. This end of the original parish became a separate one in 1934. Thus the original parish of Clarborough which had a wedge shape pointing into Retford along Moorgate and Spital Hill was finally truncated to its current rural form.

Occupations

During the period of the late 19th century, the 1881 Census provided information on the occupation classification of the inhabitants of Clarborough. This data helps to give an insight of the history of the area. The central field of employment for males during this era was in agriculture, with 667 males working within this field. Although a great number (145) were employed within the field entitled 'Wrks in Var. Mineral Substances', this could be explained through the location of Clarborough being in the Midlands, and during this time miners were in great demand, due to the volume of demand.^[14] The number of males employed within the 'professionals' field was significantly lower, standing at only 28.

1881 Occuaptional Order Graph of Clarborough.^[2]

The 1881 Census also provided information on the female occupations, with the majority (889) being categorised with an 'Unknown Occupation'. This may be seen as stereotypical for this era as it would primarily be the males in the family who earned the living. Nevertheless, this data also provides evidence stating that 385 females worked within the 'Domestic Services or Offices' grouping. Although, this is quite a minor percentage of the population of the population at this time as the 1881 Census states the population of Clarborough to be 6,290.^[15]

The village of Clarborough may have been classified with a lower class status due to the occupations found, with the vast majority of the village working in a primary field, rather than tertiary such as the level of 'Professionals' found was significantly lower compared to those working in 'Agriculture'.^[16]

As transport links improved and personal transport became the norm, Clarborough developed through the latter part of the 20th century with major employment opportunities developing at local power stations as well as public sector employers such as education, police and prison service. Improvements to the railway network, particularly the East Coast mainline through Retford that links Edinburgh and Leeds with London, also increased property prices as commuting became more feasible.

Population

Total Population Change of Clarborough between 1801-1911.^[3]

Population change in Clarborough has followed a similar trajectory to that of England as a whole, although there has been a greater amount of fluctuation. One reason for this is that Clarborough has a smaller population, therefore any change would be more recognisable. In 1881, there was a national decline in population change with England overall declining by 3%, whereas Clarborough declined overall by 6%, reaching its lowest rate of change being -3%. Since this period the population has peaked higher than the original rate to 6% in 1901, and has remained steadily in parallel with the rest of England and Wales.^[17]

The population density for England and Wales has remained at a steady rate. Although, there is a clear positive correlation, as in 1881 the national rate of population density was 0.7%, however it has increased slightly to 0.95% in 1901. Whereas, the population density in Clarborough has remained at a steady rate of 0.25% from 1881 to 1901.^[18]

Care should be exercised in considering the historic population of the Parish of Clarborough; as indicated above, the parish was effectively cut in two in 1934 when the chapel-of-ease of St.Saviour's was designated a parish in its own right.

The civil parish of Clarborough and Welham had a population of 1,111 in the 2001 Census.^[19]

Housing

According to the 2001 Census, Clarborough had 481 dwellings, 290 of these dwellings are in the detached housing category, with 186 being semi-detached and terraced houses and 5 being categorised as flat maisonettes or apartments.^[20] The average property price in Clarborough is £230,292,^[21] whereas the national average is £161,588,^[22] this shows that the villages location may be more desirable in turn increasing the property prices. All of these prices suffered significant reductions following the financial crisis of 2007-8.

Schooling

An elementary school was extant by 1 May 1871 and extracts from its Log Books ^[23] suggest that the school may have been in existence before that date, although this has yet to be confirmed. The school's capacity proved inadequate by the late 1950s. Initially this was addressed by an expansion of the Victorian buildings adjacent to the church of St.John the Baptist on Church Lane. However, as the village continued to expand through the 1960s, this too proved inadequate such that Nottinghamshire Councty Council initiated a proposed 2-phase development. The first phase, on newly created Hillview Crescent just off Main Street (the A620), was opened in 1970 and accommodated the junior classes - the Victorian building continuing to house older pupils. Phase 2 of this development was never carried forward as economic conditions of the early 1970s made it unaffordable. By the turn of the millennium conditions in both the Hillveiw Crescent building and the expanded Church Lane site made redevelopment an urgent priority such that Nottinghamshire County Council announced plans to create a new building adjacent to the Highview Crescent site as a single centre for Primary education in Clarborough. The plans would see the demolition of the 1960s building and sale of the Church Lane site (still not accomplished in late 2012). The plans for the new building needed significant modification following serious flooding of that part of the village in July 2005 but the building was opened in September 2008 to accommodate all pupils of the school.

Transport

Transport links to and from Clarborough have always been few and far between, due to the insignificant need to invest in major links, with such a small cluster of habitants moving through the village on a regular basis.

The main changes in transport for Clarborough occurred in 1777, when the Chesterfield Canal was opened, providing navigation to the Trent. This was the beginning of a period where Clarborough was being brought into the wider communication network. During this period the national road network was being upgraded, introducing the Turnpike Highways. The introduction of the Turnpike Highways allowed transport from Clarborough to larger towns such as Retford, as one highway ran from Retford (Spital Hill) to Clarborough (1824–76). This link once again has hauled Clarborough into a broader sight of nearby villages and towns, and collectively with the canal may have relocated the centre of gravity of the village, away from the church and towards the main roads as it now lies in its current state. In 1849, an additional form of transport was adapted in the local area; a railway line which would skirt the southern side of the village through the neighbouring hamlet of Welham. The railway allowed links to larger cities such as; Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire.^[24] With the increase in motor transport as the 20th century progressed, the main road through Clarborough and Welham (A620) was improved although problems caused by the already established railway line provided significant challenges; the bridge at the boundary of Welham and Clarborough has only some 12 foot 6 inches clearance and has claimed several accident fatalities. The alternative route around the village (Tiln Lane/Smeath Lane) is not suited to heavy trucks but has to serve thus until some suitable strategy can be decided (2012).

References

External links

Media related to Clarborough at Wikimedia Commons