Clenchwarton

Clenchwarton
Clenchwarton
	St Margaret, Clenchwarton
	Clenchwarton Village Sign
	Clenchwarton Location within Norfolk
Area	4.9 sq mi (13 km2)
Population	2,223 (2011)
• Density	454/sq mi (175/km2)
OS grid reference	TF588201
• London	88 miles (142 km) SW
District	King's Lynn and West Norfolk;
Shire county	Norfolk;
Region	East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KING'S LYNN
Postcode district	PE34
Dialling code	01553
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	North West Norfolk;
	List of places UK England Norfolk 52°45′19″N 0°21′15″E / 52.755238°N 0.354109°E

Clenchwarton is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk. It is located about 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) west of the River Great Ouse, about 2+1⁄4 miles (4 km) from the town of King's Lynn on the east side of the river.^[2]^[3]

History

Clenchwarton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a hill dweller's farmstead or settlement.^[4]

In the Domesday Book, Clenchwarton is recorded as an abandoned village with no recorded population in the hundred of Freebridge. The village was part of the estates of William d'Ecounis.^[5] The abandonment of the village was likely the result of the Norman reprisals in retaliation for the Ely Rebellion of 1070, led by Hereward the Wake.

The village was also surveyed by the Victorian traveller, John Marius, in the 1870s. He wrote the following about the village in the Imperial Gazetteer: "church is old but good. There are a N.Methodist chapel, and a national school."

Geography

In the 2011 Census, Clenchwarton was recorded as having a population of 2,171 residents living in 963 households.^[6]

In the 2021 Census, Clenchwarton was recorded as having a population of 2,223 residents, an increase of 0.24%.

Clenchwarton falls within the constituency of North West Norfolk and is represented at Parliament by James Wild MP of the Conservative Party.

St. Margaret's Church

Clenchwarton's parish church is of Norman origin and is dedicated to Saint Margaret of Scotland. The church was significantly remodelled in the Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and is Grade II listed. One of the main features of the church is a stained glass window installed by Hardman & Co. in the 1920s depicting Mary Elizabeth Townsend.^[7]

Clenchwarton is also home to a Methodist Church which still hosts regular services.^[8]

Amenities

Most local children attend the local Clenchwarton Community Primary School^[9] which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust. The school was rated 'Good' by Ofsted in 2017.^[10]

The local convenience store can be located on Main Road, just opposite the Primary School. The shop also has a Post Office^[11] inside.

The village is home to Clenchwarton Football Club which hosts several youth and adult teams. The first XI compete in the North-West Norfolk Saturday League.^[12]

The village is also home to a lawn bowls team.

Transport

Clenchwarton Railway Station opened in 1866 as part of the Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway and was eventually closed in 1959.

Public transport through the village is now provided by bus route 505 between King's Lynn and Spalding. It is part of the Lincolnshire Interconnect network and currently operated by Stagecoach in Lincolnshire.

War memorial

Clenchwarton has two war memorials located inside St. Margaret's Church and on the nearby 'Peace Cottages'.

It lists the following 17 names for the First World War:

Private Alfred Beaumont (d.1917), 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment
Lance-Corporal Arthur W. Benton (1895–1918), 9th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
Driver Herbert E. Chamberlain (1890–1915), Royal Army Service Corps
Sapper Harry Coates (d.1919), 287th (Army Troops) Company, Royal Engineers
Private Ralph Coates (d.1918), 1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment
Driver Alfred H. Collison (d.1917), 83rd Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery
Stoker Harry Coy (1865–1917), HMS Vanguard
Private William H. Haynes (1898–1918), 11st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
Private Joseph Howard (1893–1918), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Private Sydney E. Killingsworth (d.1918), 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
Gunner William E. Killingsworth (d.1917), 177th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Lance-Corporal Charles A. Maycraft (1895–1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Private George E. Maycraft (1898–1917), 1/5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Private Alfred E. Meek (1897–1918), 2/6th Battalion, Manchester Regiment
Private Walter S. Meek (d.1915), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Private Henry W. Peake (d.1916), 6th Battalion, Border Regiment
Private Samuel G. Vincent (1886–1917), 6th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment