Clipsham

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]

Clipsham

The Church of St Mary
Clipsham
Location within Rutland
Area2.61 sq mi (6.8 km2) [1]
Population120 (2001 Census)[2]
• Density46/sq mi (18/km2)
OS grid referenceSK969163
• London88 miles (142 km) SSE
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townOAKHAM
Postcode districtLE15
Dialling code01572
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
Topiary at Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue

The village is well known for its limestone quarries. Clipsham stone,[4][5] part of the Upper Lincolnshire Limestone Formation, can be found in many of Britain's most famous buildings including King's College Chapel (Cambridge), the Examination Schools in Oxford, York Minster, and in repairs to the Houses of Parliament. The earliest recorded use of Clipsham stone was for Windsor Castle between 1363 and 1368. The London Stone is made of it, however, and dates back at least to about 1100.

The topiary Yew Tree Avenue, once the carriage drive to Clipsham Hall, has been maintained by the Forestry Commission.[6] The avenue stretches for 500 metres (1,600 ft), with some 150 shaped yew trees leading towards the Hall, a Grade II* listed mansion[7] set in a landscaped park. 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,[8] has signed a 20-year agreement with the Forestry Commission to take over the management of the avenue.[9]

The parish church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building.[10]

The Olive Branch[11] 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.

A topiary windmill

See also

References
  1. "A vision of Britain through time". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  2. "Rutland Civil Parish Populations" (PDF). Rutland County Council. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  3. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. Clipsham Quarry Company website
  5. The Stamford Stone Company Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine operates Clipsham Medwells Quarry
  6. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/ical-8yqefw
  7. Historic England, "Clipsham Hall (1073244)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 October 2015
  8. Charity Commission. Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust, registered charity no. 1178614.
  9. "Yew Tree Avenue in Clipsham to be restored to former glory". yewtreeavenue.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  10. Historic England, "Church of St Mary (1361803)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 October 2015
  11. The Olive Branch, Clipsham, UK.
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