Clothall

{{Infobox UK place

| official_name= Clothall

| civil_parish = Clothall

| country= England

| region= East of England

|coordinates = {{coord|51|58|N|0|09|W|display=title|region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}

| post_town= Baldock

| postcode_area= SG

| postcode_district= SG7

| dial_code=

| shire_district= North Hertfordshire

| shire_county= Hertfordshire

| hide_services= Yes

| population = 155

| population_ref = (Parish, 2021){{cite web |title=2021 Census Parish Profiles |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 March 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)

|static_image=Clothall - St Mary the Virgin.jpg

|static_image_caption=Church of St Mary the Virgin, Clothall

}}

Clothall is a village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The small village stands on a ridge of high ground {{convert|2|miles|km|0}} south-east of Baldock. The parish extends from the fringes of Baldock in the north to the hamlet of Luffenhall in the south. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 155.

History

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built of flint and stone around 1350–70.{{cite web|url=http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/links/clothall.htm|title=Clothall|publisher=Towns & Villages in Herts|access-date=6 November 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43608|title=Clothall|publisher=British History Online|access-date=4 September 2010}} though parts of the church are older, dating to the 12th century.{{cite web|url=http://buntingforddeanery.org.uk/Clothall%20Main.html|title=Clothall - St. Mary the Virgin Church|publisher=The Buntingford Deanery Directory|access-date=25 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812232220/http://buntingforddeanery.org.uk/Clothall%20Main.html|archive-date=12 August 2011|url-status=dead}}

Governance

There are two elected tiers of local government covering Clothall, at district and county level: North Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council.{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=1 May 2025}}

File:Clothall Village Hall.jpg

Due to its low population, Clothall has a parish meeting comprising all residents instead of an elected parish council. Although the name of the parish is just Clothall, the district council refers to the parish meeting as "Clothall and Luffenhall Parish Meeting".{{cite web |title=Parish councils and parish meetings |url=https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/parish-councils-and-parish-meetings |website=North Hertfordshire District Council |access-date=3 May 2025}} Parish meetings are held at the village hall on Ashanger Lane.{{cite web |title=Clothall with Luffenhall Parish Meeting |url=https://www.clothallpm.org.uk/local-news |access-date=6 May 2025}}

The parish historically included an area of common land lying immediately east of Baldock.{{cite book |editor1-last=Page |editor1-first=William |title=A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 3 |date=1912 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=220–226 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol3/pp220-226 |access-date=5 May 2025}} This area was developed in the 1980s as the Clothall Common housing estate; it was removed from Clothall parish in 1985.{{cite book |title=Alteration of areas and status of local authorities 1 April 1984 – 31 March 1985 |date=1985 |publisher=Department of the Environment |location=London |page=7 |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221201180332mp_/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/17513/bulletin84-85.pdf |access-date=5 May 2025}}

Notable people

Thomas Stanley (1625–1678) was baptised at Clothall and lived at Cumberlow Manor, which was at the south-eastern end of Clothall parish, near the boundary with Rushden.{{cite book |title=Bishop's Transcripts for Clothall, 1604–1689 |publisher=Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies |location=Hertford |quote=A true & p[er]fect Register of all the Christnings Marriages & Burialls within the parish of Clothall from Michaelmas 1624 till Michaelmas 1625... Thomas the sonne of S[i]r Thomas Stanley was baptised the 3rd of September}}{{cite book |editor1-last=Page |editor1-first=William |title=A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 3 |date=1912 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=265–270 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol3/pp265-270 |access-date=5 May 2025}}{{NHLE|desc=Site of Cumberlow Manor House|num=1003551}}

File:Buildings in Luffenhall - geograph.org.uk - 7087665.jpg

References

Category:Villages in Hertfordshire

Category:Civil parishes in Hertfordshire

Category:North Hertfordshire District