Clifton Campville

Clifton Campville
Clifton Campville from above
Clifton Campville  Clifton Campville shown within Staffordshire
Population	764 [1]
OS grid reference	SK255110
Civil parish	Clifton Campville
District	Lichfield
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TAMWORTH
Postcode district	B79 0
Dialling code	01827
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Tamworth[2]
List of places UK England Staffordshire

Clifton Campville is a village and civil parish^[3] in Staffordshire, England.^[4] It lies on the River Mease, about 10 miles (16 km) east of the City of Lichfield, 6 miles (10 km) west of Measham and 7 miles (11 km) north of Tamworth. The village lies very close to Stafforshire's borders with Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. In 2001 the parish had a population of 764.

There is a fine gothic church, dedicated to St Andrew,^[5] and listed Grade I. The village pub, The Green Man, is also a historic building.

History

The first part of the name is Old English clif tun, that is cliff farm; the family de Camvill held the land in the early 13th century.^[6] The name has also been recorded as Clistone.^[7]

There is some evidence of pre-Saxon, or even pre-historic settlement in the area. The settlement of Clistone is mentioned in Domesday Book as having 33 villagers, a priest, 11 ploughs and 2 mills. One of the mills was possibly at Mill Farm.^[7]

After the Norman Conquest the manor belonged to the king. From 1200 it was owned by the Camville (or de Camvill) family, at least until 1315. By 1700 it was in possession of the Coventry family, who sold it in that year to Sir Charles Pye, Bart. His family still owned the manor in 1851, in the person of Henry John Pye.^[8][9]

In 1848 the parish included both Haunton and Harlaston, and also Chilcote in Derbyshire. Clifton itself then had a population of 341, while the population of the whole parish was 921 on 6,300 acres (25 km²).^[9] The core parish of Clifton and Haunton covered around 3,000 acres (12 km²) in 1851.^[8] Nowadays the Church of England parish still includes Haunton and Chilcote, and also Statfold.^[10]

Governance

The parish of Clifton Campville formerly included Chilcote in Derbyshire, and Harlaston, as well as Haunton, which it still does. It became part of Tamworth Poor Law Union in 1836; in 1866 Harlaston became a civil parish in its own right. In 1894 Clifton with Haunton became a civil parish within the newly constituted Tamworth Rural District.^[11][12]

The civil parish became part of Lichfield Rural District during the boundary changes of 1934. In 1974 it became part of the new non-metropolitan district of Lichfield. The parish council meets jointly with Thorpe Constantine.^[12][13]

Electorally the parish is part of Mease and Tame ward of Lichfield District,^[14] and lies within the parliamentary constituency of Tamworth.^[2]

Landmarks

Clifton contains a number of listed buildings, including the Grade I listed Church of St Andrew, Clifton Hall, Manor Farm, the old Post Office and the village pub, the Green Man. There are also several historic buildings in Haunton.^[15]

Church of St Andrew

Church and monument at Clifton Campville

The parish church, dedicated to St Andrew, is a Grade I listed building.^[15] Though nothing remains of the building mentioned in Domesday, some parts of the south wall date back to the year 1200, with traces of 13th century wall paintings. The church was enlarged into the shape of a cross in the first half of the 13th century. It was enlarged again in the 14th century. The tower was built in the first half of the 14th century, with a spire, reaching to a height of about 210 feet (65 m), added at some time during the century. The interior includes 14th century screens carved from oak; the rood screen is from the 15th century, as is some stained glass in one of the north windows. The church was restored by George Edmund Street in the second half of the 19th century, and again by W. D. Caroe in the early 20th century. In 1984 the spire was struck by lightning, with much damage to the church. Repairs were completed in 1987.^[7][16]

The adjoining cemetery also dates back to mediaeval days.^[7]

The Old Rectory is in origin a 15th-century building, though the history of the rectory can be traced further back, to the mid 14th century. The building was altered in 1694, and again in 1778, and restored in around 1980. It is listed Grade II.^[7][15]

Education

The village school is St Andrew's Church of England Controlled Primary School. In 2009 it had 63 pupils, and was rated as Outstanding by OFSTED.^[17][18]

Other settlements

The neighbouring village of Haunton, one mile (about 1.5 km) to the west, has historically been, and remains, part of the parish of Clifton Campville.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clifton Campville.

External links

• Village website
• Images of England: Details of listed buildings
• Staffordshire Past Track: Old images of Clifton Campville