Nearby churches
CLOPHILL, a parish in the hundred of FLITT, county of BEDFORD, 1¾ mile (N. by E.) from Silsoe, containing 838 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £12, and in the patronage of the Countess De Grey. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, stands upon an eminence at some distance from the village. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The river Ivel passes through the parish. At Cainhoe are vestiges of the ancient moated Castle of the Barons d'Albini; the hill on which it stood is high and steep and overgrown, with coppice wood. Here was a religious house, probably a cell to St. Alban's abbey.
[A Topographical Dictionary of England - Samuel Lewis - 1831]
The 1851 Census Index for Clophill can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 4, Book 1 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.
Church of England
The church of St. Mary was erected in 1848 by public subscription, of the sandstone peculiar to the Wrest estate : it is in the late Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave and south aisle, with an embattled tower, containing 2 bells and an octagonal tower attached rising above the former also embattled : the church is approached by a noble avenue of elms : the old church of St. Mary (not used for burials only) contains several interesting memorial tablets to the Rev. Charles Fletcher M.A., 1753, the Rev. William Pierce Nethersole, vicar of Pulloxhill, 1799, and another to members of the family of the Rev. Ezekiel Rouse: the roof is of ancient oak. The register dates from the year 1568.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
Non-conformist
The Primitive Methodists have a chapel here..
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
The parish record transcripts for St. Mary are available on microfiche for the period 1568-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.
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[Last updated 5 May 2003 Martin Edwards]