Clarborough (Clareborough or Clayborough)
"Clarborough. This extensive parish is intersected by the Chesterfield Canal,
and is skirted on the west by the River Idle, and extends from Retford to
Hayton and Leverton. It contains 2,504 inhabitants and 3,410 acres of land, of
the rateable value of £6,500. It is divided into the five hamlets of
Clarborough, Bolham, Little Gringley, Moorgate and Welham, which repair their
own roads separately, but maintain their poor conjointly. At the enclosure of
Clarborough and Welham commons in 1777, two allotments, consisting of 197a 2r
37p in the former, and 133a 2r 13p in the latter, were awarded to the lay
impropriator (now the Duke of Devonshire) in lieu of the great tithes, and they
have since been sold to various freeholders. At the same time, 43a 2r 12p in
Clarborough, and 43a 0r 25p in Welham, were alloted to the vicar, as a
commutation of the small tithes of those hamlets. The impropriation of Little
Gringley was sold about twenty years ago to A.H. Eyre Esq., and the of Bolham
and Moorgate to the late Hon. J.B. Simpson of Babworth.
The charities belonging to this parish are a yearly rent charge of £3 6s 8d out
of the rectory farm to the poor; £4 per annum left by William Broadhead to the
poor of Moorgate and Spittal Hill, out of a house and land at Moorgate; 9s
yearly to the poor of Clarborough, left by Mr Fisher, out of land at Welham; an
annuity of 14s left by George Mower, to the poor of Clarborough; and an annuity
of 10s paid out of the poor rates as the interest of £12, left by Mr Andrew."
[White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]
- The parish was in the Clarborough sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 849 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2413 & 2414 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3451 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2639 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
- The church was originally constructed in 1258.
- The church was restored in 1874.
- A Yew tree in the churchyard is reported to be over 1,000 years old.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. John's Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2005.
- There is a history of St. John's at the Southwell Church History Project website.
- The church of St. Saviour, in Moorgate, was built in 1828.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1567 and is in good condition.
- The Family History Centre in London has the Bishop's Transcripts for this parish from 1608 - 1841.
- The Family History Centre in London has a transcript of marriages for 1567 - 1837.
- The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has a parish register printout of marriages for 1813 - 1837.
- The church was in the rural deanery of Retford.
- The Primitive Methodists had a chapel here before 1871.
- The parish was in the Clarborough sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
- Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
Clarborough is a village and a large parish within the pariliamentary borough of East Retford, situated on the bank of the Chesterfield Canal. The parish is 146 miles north of London and 2.5 miles north-east of East Retford. The parish covers about 3,500 acres and includes the hamlets of Welham, 1 miles north-east from East Retford, and Welham Whinley's 1 miles east of Clarborough. Bollam, Little Gringely and Moorgate hamlets were given to East Retford in 1878 by an Act of Parliament.
If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, from the intersection of the M1 motorway and the B6072 arterial road near Worksop, head east to Retford. Pass through Retford on the arterial and head to Clarborough on what is now the A620.
- Andrew HILL has a photograph of the Main Street on Geo-graph, taken in 2010.
- The town has its own website to familiarize you with the area.
- Visit the Clarborough Tunnel SSSI nature preserve while you are in the area.
- The national grid reference is SK 7383.
- You'll want an Ordinance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- There is a War Memorial inside the church. It is difficult to make the names in this photograph from the Southwell Churches History Project.
- The village name appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as Claueburch or Claureburg.
- This place was an ancient parish in Nottingham county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the North Clay division of the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
- In December, 1894, the Civil Parish was reduced in size to create the North Retford Civil Parish.
- For local governance, you can contact the Parish Council on civic or political issues. They are NOT staffed or tasked with providing family history research assistance.
- For district governance, the parish is in the Bassetlaw District Council.
- After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the East Retford Poor Law Union.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the East Retford petty sessional hearings.
The polulation of this parish took a big drop when the North Retford Civil Parish was split off from it in 1894.
| Year |
Population |
| 1801 |
1,202 |
| 1811 |
1,531 |
| 1821 |
1,929 |
| 1831 |
2,106 |
| 1841 |
2,207 |
| 1851 |
2,504 |
| 1871 |
2,648 |
| 1881 |
2,946 |
| 1891 |
2,899 |
- Clarborough National School (mixed) was erected here in May, 1871.
- This is now Clarborough County Primary School (formerly on Church Lane until 2008) now on Hillview Crescent.
- The School Log Books are online for 1871 through 1922.
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[Last updated: 9-March-2013 - Louis R. Mills]
