Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing to 166 at the 2011 census.[3]
The village's name possibly means 'homestead/village of Cylp' or 'hemmed-in land of Cylp'.[4]
St Mary's Church is a Grade II* listed building.[5] Clipsham Hall of c. 1700 is a Grade II* listed mansion,[6] set in a landscaped park.
The Olive Branch[7] is one of the very few pubs to hold a Michelin star and in 2008 was chosen as winner of the Michelin Pub of the Year.
The topiary Yew Tree Avenue, once the carriage drive to Clipsham Hall, has been maintained by the Forestry Commission.[10] The avenue stretches for 500 metres (1,600 ft), with some 150 shaped yew trees leading towards the Hall. Many of the trees are over 200 years old and have been trimmed since the late 19th-century into various shapes depicting birds and animals on the tops and designs in relief on the sides.
After 2010, Forest Enterprise could not fund the annual trimming and the trees became overgrown and diseased. The Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust, a registered charity set up in 2018,[11] has signed a 20-year agreement with the Forestry Commission to take over the management of the avenue.[12]
In 2024 the trust was awarded a grant of £114,650 in 2024 to preserve the trees and restore lost topiary designs.[13]
