Clenchwarton

Clenchwarton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a hill dweller's farmstead or settlement.[4]

In the Domesday Book, Clenchwarton is recorded as an abandoned village with no recorded population in the hundred of Freebridge. The village was part of the estates of William d'Ecounis.[5] The abandonment of the village was likely the result of the Norman reprisals in retaliation for the Ely Rebellion of 1070, led by Hereward the Wake.

The village was also surveyed by the Victorian traveller, John Marius, in the 1870s. He wrote the following about the village in the Imperial Gazetteer: "church is old but good. There are a N.Methodist chapel, and a national school."

In the 2011 Census, Clenchwarton was recorded as having a population of 2,171 residents living in 963 households.[6]

In the 2021 Census, Clenchwarton was recorded as having a population of 2,223 residents, an increase of 0.24%.

Clenchwarton falls within the constituency of North West Norfolk and is represented at Parliament by James Wild MP of the Conservative Party.

Clenchwarton's parish church is of Norman origin and is dedicated to Saint Margaret of Scotland. The church was significantly remodelled in the Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and is Grade II listed. One of the main features of the church is a stained glass window installed by Hardman & Co. in the 1920s depicting Mary Elizabeth Townsend.[7]

Clenchwarton is also home to a Methodist Church which still hosts regular services.[8]

Most local children attend the local Clenchwarton Community Primary School[9] which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust. The school was rated 'Good' by Ofsted in 2017.[10]

The local convenience store can be located on Main Road, just opposite the Primary School. Currently the shop is owned by Morrisons. Former owners include Coop, McColl's, Budgens and Spar. The store contains a good selection of groceries, newspapers, greetings cards, alcohol and tobacco. The shop also has a Post Office[11] inside.

The village is home to Clenchwarton Football Club which hosts several youth and adult teams. The first XI compete in the North-West Norfolk Saturday League.[12]

The village is also home to a lawn bowls team.

Clenchwarton Railway Station opened in 1866 as part of the Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway and was eventually closed in 1959.

Clenchwarton has two war memorials located inside St. Margaret's Church and on the nearby 'Peace Cottages'.

It lists the following 17 names for the First World War:

Built into the wall, between the windows of two cottages. 17 names from WW1, 5 from WW2 and 1 from the Cyprus conflict.

• Private Alfred Beaumont (d.1917), 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment
• Lance-Corporal Arthur W. Benton (1895-1918), 9th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
• Driver Herbert E. Chamberlain (1890-1915), Royal Army Service Corps
• Sapper Harry Coates (d.1919), 287th (Army Troops) Company, Royal Engineers
• Private Ralph Coates (d.1918), 1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment
• Driver Alfred H. Collison (d.1917), 83rd Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery
• Stoker Harry Coy (1865-1917), HMS Vanguard
• Private William H. Haynes (1898-1918), 11st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
• Private Joseph Howard (1893-1918), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Private Sydney E. Killingsworth (d.1918), 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
• Gunner William E. Killingsworth (d.1917), 177th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
• Lance-Corporal Charles A. Maycraft (1895-1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Private George E. Maycraft (1898-1917), 1/5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Private Alfred E. Meek (1897-1918), 2/6th Battalion, Manchester Regiment
• Private Walter S. Meek (d.1915), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Private Henry W. Peake (d.1916), 6th Battalion, Border Regiment
• Private Samuel G. Vincent (1886-1917), 6th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment

And, the following for the Second World War:

• Private Arthur G. Compertz (1903-1940), Royal Army Service Corps
• Private Cecil V. Hare (d.1942), 30th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Gunner Ernest F. W. Wake (1920-1942), 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
• Pilot-Sergeant Russell E. Fuller (1923-1943), No. 77 Squadron RAF
• Leading-Aircraftman Ernest G. Usher (d.1946), Royal Air Force

And, the following for the Cyprus Emergency:

• Private Clifford J. Gosling (1936-1956), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment