Clowne

Clowne, originally Clun, a Celtic name for a river, has been spelt in various ways over the last thousand years, including Clune, Clowen and Clown, before adopting its current form in the 1920s.{{citation|url=http://www.clownevillage.co.uk/history/history.html |title=Villagers take stock of their history |publisher=ClowneVillage.co.uk |access-date = 7 December 2009}} It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clune under the lordship of ‘Robert of Barlborough’ with a population consisting of 27.3 households, putting it in the largest 40% of recorded settlements.{{citation|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SK4975/clowne/|title=Clowne entry in Domesday Book|publisher=opendomesday.org|access-date=20 January 2022}} The names of the two railway stations in the village were spelled differently at different times: they both started as ’Clown’; one was renamed twice, firstly as ’Clown and Barlborough’ (no ’e’), then as Clowne and Barlborough; the other was renamed Clowne South.Buckley (1977), p. 48. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PR9 | title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places | publisher=Adams Media | author=Parker, Quentin | year=2010 | pages=ix | isbn=9781440507397 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Between Clowne and Creswell, on the southern end of the band of magnesian limestone which runs south from Durham to the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border, are Hollinhill and Markland Grips, a series of valleys often with vertical cliff-like sides formed by meltwater action of receding glaciers at the end of the last Ice age. 'Grips' is the local term for this feature. In the cliff sides are several small caves, rock shelters and fissures where human bones, which have been carbon dated to the early Neolithic period, have been discovered.{{citation |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=7371 |title=Markland Grips Cave |publisher=The Megalithic Portal |date=18 May 2003 |access-date=8 December 2009}} During the Roman period, a fort guarding an important ridgeway which ran north to south was close to Clowne. It was close to an even older Bronze Age fortification on a promontory north of Hollinhill Grips.Buckley (1977), p. 4.{{citation|url=http://www.burrows.co.uk/bolsoverguide/10TheM.htm |title=Bolsover Guide |publisher=burrows.co.uk |access-date=8 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708185035/http://www.burrows.co.uk/bolsoverguide/10TheM.htm |archive-date=8 July 2008}} The Grips are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, managed by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.{{citation|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000466.pdf |title=Hollinhill and Markland |publisher=Natural England |date=22 August 1986 |access-date=8 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604094241/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000466.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2011}}

The first recorded mention of Clowne manor was in 1002 when the owner was Wulfric Spot. The Domesday Book refers to Ernui but then there was no mention of the manor until 1485 when Clowne was associated with the Bolsover manor.Buckley (1977), p. 8. The manor eventually passed to the Cavendish family and through marriage to the Bentinck family, the Dukes of Portland.Buckley (1977), pp. 10,11.

The church, St John the Baptist, Clowne dedicated to St John the Baptist, was built during the 12th century. The medieval cross{{NHLE |desc=Clowne Cross |num=1108957 |date=28 September 2001 |access-date=6 December 2009|mode=cs2}} and the church of St. John the Baptist{{NHLE |desc=Clowne Church |num=1040039 |date=11 August 2004 |access-date=6 December 2009|mode=cs2}} are the oldest surviving structures in the village.{{cite web|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/Clowne/DARGNotes.html |title=Description of Clowne & St John the Baptist Church |publisher=GENUKI |date=16 April 2000 |access-date=6 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506063715/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/Clowne/DARGNotes.html |archive-date=6 May 2010}}

In the 17th century Clowne was a rural farming community. Some buildings still stand from this date, notably the Anchor Inn and Sheridon's Yard (now private residences). The plague struck Clowne in 1586 and 1606, and victims were buried away from the village at Monument Field or Plague Field.Buckley (1977), p. 49.

At the beginning of the 19th century the inhabitants of Clowne worked in agriculture, or mined the shallow coal seams. Others were employed at the mill, which made candle-wick, sacking and sail-cloth. During the Industrial Revolution, Clowne grew exponentially, swallowing the neighbouring villages of Hickinwood and Markland and becoming a mining town. The sinking of the {{convert|1000|ft|m}} deep mine, Southgate Colliery, in 1877 brought in workers from elsewhere. At its peak it employed 400 men and produced 600 tons of coal per day. At the end of the 19th century, rows of Victorian terraced houses were built to house the mining families. This growth left its mark on the village visible in the old school (built 1895), the terraced housing and the old village High Street (1901) as well as the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, which became the Great Central, and the Midland Railway lines which ran through the village each having a railway station. The colliery survived a fire in 1920 but closed in 1929 after the pit flooded.Buckley (1977), p. 47.

Historically, Clowne was in the hundred or wapentake of Scarsdale in the county of Derbyshire. This hundred dates to pre Conquest times. Wapentake is a division of Danish or Viking origin.Buckley (1977), p. 5. Clowne was part of the Worksop Poor Law Union which dates from July 1836. The workhouse was built in 1837 at East Gate in Worksop.{{citation|url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Worksop/Worksop.shtml |title=Worksop Union, Nottinghamshire |publisher=workhouses.org.uk |date=7 July 2009 |access-date=10 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605234716/http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Worksop%2FWorksop.shtml |archive-date=5 June 2011}} Clowne, an old ecclesiastical parish, was created Clowne Rural District Council as part of the Worksop rural sanitary district in 1894. This consisted of four civil parishes; Barlborough, Clowne, Elmton, and Whitwell, and was abolished in 1974 when it became part of Bolsover District Council.{{citation |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10086700 |title=Clowne RD through time |publisher=Vision of Britain |year=2009 |access-date=7 December 2009}}

Clowne is part of the Bolsover parliamentary constituency which, at present, is held for the Labour Party by Natalie Fleet who has been their MP since 2024. Until this,Conservative Party MP Mark Fletcher held the seat from 2019.

Clowne is in the north east corner of Derbyshire between Chesterfield and Worksop. It is situated on the old Mansfield to Rotherham road, now the A618, at its junction with the A616 road from Newark-on-Trent to the M1 motorway at nearby Barlborough. The village is surrounded by rolling farmland, mostly arable.Buckley (1977), p. 1. The area of Clowne is {{convert|1825|acre|ha}} of limestone and clay land watered by numerous springs. Harlesthorpe Dam covers about {{convert|4|acre|ha}} and there is a chalybeate spring called Shuttlewood Spa in the neighbourhood.{{Citation|title=Clowne, Description from Pigot's 1835 Directory of Derbyshire |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/Clowne/History.html |publisher=GENUKI |year=1999 |access-date=6 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506063657/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/Clowne/History.html |archive-date=6 May 2010}} Land to the north west of Clowne is a Green belt.{{Citation |title=Clowne |url=http://www.bolsover.gov.uk/docs/CLOWNE.doc |publisher=Bolsover District Council |format=Word Document |year=2008 |access-date=9 January 2010}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

The population of Clowne in 2001 was 7,447.

At the time of the 2001 Census, there were 3,331 people in employment who were resident within Clowne.

Of these, 19.84% worked in the wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 17.77% worked within manufacturing industry; 12.10% worked within the health and social work sector and 8.86% were employed in the education sector.{{Citation |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8306&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=240 |title=KS11a Industry of employment – all people: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |publisher=Office for National Statistics |year=2004 |access-date=8 December 2009}}

Regeneration of the village centre has taken place including the opening of a Tesco supermarket, Wilko store (now B&M) and Aldi supermarket. Clowne is close to Creswell Crags, the UK's only verified example of Paleolithic cave art, and close to the M1 motorway. Historian James Romanelli recently auctioned off precious artefacts found near this site to an environmental institute.

Clowne had two railway stations that served the village. These were Clowne and Barlborough railway station and Clowne South railway station. Since the closure of the railway stations, Clowne has been served by road transport. Buses run by Stagecoach Chesterfield and Stagecoach Worksop operate services in and around Clowne.{{citation|title=Chesterfield Bus Service Frequency Guide |url=http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/Images/Bus%20Service%20Frequency%20Guide%20for%20Chesterfield%2048%201_tcm9-90373.pdf |publisher=Derbyshire County Council |access-date=9 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222060013/http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/Images/Bus%20Service%20Frequency%20Guide%20for%20Chesterfield%2048%201_tcm9-90373.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2012 }}{{citation |title=Bus Map of Clowne |url=http://www.derbysbus.info/images/clowne.pdf |publisher=Public Transport in Derbyshire |date=24 September 2008 |access-date=9 January 2010}}

The nearest operational station from Clowne today is Creswell, on the Robin Hood line between Worksop and Nottingham via Mansfield.

The earliest recorded school was a free school founded in 1730. A School Board was formed in 1876. The girls & infants school was built in 1877, the boys school in 1889.{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland |last=Kelly |year=1891 |pages=98–99 |location=London |url=http://www.andrewspages.dial.pipex.com/dby/kelly/clown.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207120043/http://www.andrewspages.dial.pipex.com/dby/kelly/clown.htm |publisher=Kelly’s Directories Ltd. |archive-date=7 February 2006 |access-date=22 May 2009 }} Clowne Junior School is housed in a building opened in October 1984. They have around 350 pupils. Heritage High School, formerly Clowne Secondary School, on Boughton Lane was awarded specialist Mathematics and Computing School status in 2006. A new school has been built, with much better facilities than the previous school.

There was a mining college in Clowne.

Local TV coverage is provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire. Local radio stations that broadcast to the town are BBC Radio Sheffield, Hallam FM, Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire, Mansfield 103.2 FM and Elastic FM, community based station that broadcast from the town. {{Cite web |url=https://elasticfm.co.uk/about-us/ |title=About Us |publisher=Elastic FM |access-date=26 September 2024}} The Derbyshire Times is the weekly local newspaper.

File:St John the Baptist Church, Clowne.jpg

The church of St. John the Baptist is situated on an ancient ridgeway and dates from Norman times, the south doorway and chancel arch are of Norman architecture. It was partially rebuilt in the Early English and Perpendicular styles. The Norman chancel was rebuilt and enlarged in 1955 when two chapels were added, one dedicated to those who lost their lives in the coal mines.

File:Clowne - North Street Methodist Chapel.jpg Early recorded evidence shows the existence of a Primitive Methodist chapel in 1829, although the Ecclesiastical Census Return of 1851 dates the Primitive Methodist Chapel to 1834. A new building was opened in 1877.{{Citation |title=Clowne Methodist Church |url=http://www.clowne-methodist.org.uk/page1.htm |publisher=Clowne Methodist |access-date=16 December 2009}}

The Salvation Army{{Citation|title=The Salvation Army: Clowne |url=http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-sublinks/6361653FE8F098F480256FA400571085?openDocument |publisher=The Salvation Army |access-date=16 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427150536/http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-sublinks/6361653FE8F098F480256FA400571085?openDocument |archive-date=27 April 2009}} and Christadelphians{{Citation |title=Clowne Christadelphians |url=http://www.clowne-christadelphians.org/ |publisher=Clowne Christadelphians |access-date=23 January 2018}} meet in Clowne.

Roman Catholics in the area used Southgate House Chapel to celebrate mass. The chapel was built in 1901 by Lady Petre, the second wife of Colonel Butler Bowden. The chapel continued in use until 1950 and is now the dining room of the Van Dyk Hotel.{{Citation |title=Churches |url=http://www.wlhg.co.uk/book/part5.htm |publisher=Whitwell Local History Group |access-date=16 December 2009}} Roman Catholics now worship at the Church of Sacred Heart in Clowne.Buckley (1977), p. 21.

• Listed buildings in Clowne

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• {{citation |last=Buckley |first=J. A. |title=A history of Clowne |year=1977 }}

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{{Geographic Location

|title = Neighbouring towns, villages, and places

|Northwest = Barlborough

|North = Harthill

|Northeast = Whitwell Common

|West = Mastin Moor

|Centre = Clowne

|East = Creswell

|Southwest = Shuttlewood

|South = Scarcliffe

|Southeast = Elmton

}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Villages in Derbyshire

Category:Civil parishes in Derbyshire

Category:Bolsover District