Clenchwarton is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk.
Clenchwarton is located west of King's Lynn, separated by the River Great Ouse, and west of Norwich.
History Clenchwarton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a hill dweller's farmstead or settlement.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, 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'Ecouis. 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."
During the Second World War, anti-tank defences were built in Clenchwarton to defend against a possible German invasion of East Anglia.
Geography According to the 2021 census, the population of Clenchwarton is 2,223 people which shows an increase from the 2,171 people listed in the 2011 census.
The parish is bordered to the east by the River Great Ouse and to the south by the A17, between Newark-on-Trent and King's Lynn.
St. Margaret's Church Clenchwarton's parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret of Scotland and is located on Church Road. The church dates back to the Fourteenth Century and has been Grade II listed since 1951.
The church boasts stained-glass windows installed by Hardman & Co. with one from the 1920s depicting Mary Elizabeth Townsend as well as other windows designed by Charles Gibbs. There is also a memorial to Pte. Clifford J. Gosling of the 1st Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment who was killed in a forest fire during Operation Lucky Alphonse during the Cyprus Emergency in the late 1950s. Gosling is buried in Wayne's Keep Military Cemetery, Nicosia.
St Margaret's Churchyard holds a listed headstone dedicated to Christopher Hudson which dates to 1709, and the remains of a medieval cross.
Clenchwarton is also home to a Methodist Church which still hosts regular services. Methodist Church of Britain. (2022). Retrieved December 11, 2022. https://eangliamethodist.org.uk/clenchwarton
Amenities Most local children attend the local Clenchwarton Community Primary School which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust. The school was rated 'Good' by Ofsted in 2017. Ofsted. (2017). Retrieved December 11, 2022. https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/141465
The local convenience store can be located on Main Road, just opposite the Primary School. The shop also has a Post Office 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. The FA. (2022). Retrieved December 11, 2022. https://fulltime.thefa.com/displayTeam.html?divisionseason=253179816&teamID=653967848
The village is also home to a lawn bowls team.
Transport Clenchwarton Railway Station opened in 1866 as part of the Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway and was eventually closed in 1959.
Public transport through the village is now provided by bus route 505 between King's Lynn and Spalding. It is part of the Lincolnshire Interconnect network and currently operated by Stagecoach in Lincolnshire.
Governance Clenchwarton is an electoral ward for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2019.
War Memorial Clenchwarton's main war memorial is a marble plaque located inside St. Margaret's Church with a further memorial to the fallen on the Peace Cottages on Church Road. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurialLCpl.Arthur W. Benton9th Bn., Duke of Wellington's Regt.31 Oct. 1918Awoingt CemeteryLCpl.Charles A. Maycraft1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment5 Sep. 1916Dive Copse CemeteryDvr.Herbert E. ChamberlainArmy Service Corps4 May 1915Menin GateDvr.Alfred H. Collison83rd Bde., Royal Horse Artillery7 Oct. 1917Vlamertinge CemeteryGnr.William E. Killingsworth177th Bde., Royal Field Artillery6 Jul. 1917Brandhoek CemeteryPte.Henry W. Peake6th Bn., Border Regiment29 Sep. 1916Contay British CemeteryPte.Samuel G. Vincent6th Bn., The Buffs10 Apr. 1917Duisans CemeteryPte.Alfred Beaumont2nd Bn., Essex Regiment12 Apr. 1917Athies CemeteryPte.Ralph Coates1st (City) Bn., London Regiment24 Aug. 1918Summit Trench Cem.Pte.Alfred Cyril Meek2/6th Bn., Manchester Regiment1 May 1918Cologne Southern Cem.Pte.George E. Maycraft1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regiment19 Apr. 1917Gaza War CemeteryPte.Walter Sydney Meek7th Bn., Norfolk Regt.28 Oct. 1915Haisnes CemeteryPte.Sydney E. Killingsworth2nd Bn., Northamptonshire Regt.27 May 1918Soissons MemorialPte.William H. Haynes11th Bn., Suffolk Regiment9 Apr. 1918Le Grand Beaumart Cem.Sig.Joseph Howard7th Bn., Norfolk Regiment28 Mar. 1918Doullens CemeterySpr.Harry Coates287th Coy., Royal Engineers10 Jan. 1919Mikra British CemeterySt.Harry CoyHMS Vanguard9 Jul. 1917Chatham Naval Memorial And, the following for the Second World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurialSgt.Russell E. FullerNo. 77 Squadron RAF24 Aug. 1943Berlin War CemeteryLACErnest G. UsherRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve16 May 1946St. Margaret's ChurchyardGnr.Ernest F. W. Wake2 Regt., Royal Horse Artillery3 Jul. 1942Alamein MemorialPte.Arthur G. GompertzRoyal Army Service Corps17 Jun. 1940Dolus-d'Oléron CemeteryPte.Cecil V. Hare30th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment25 Sep. 1942St. Margaret's Churchyard
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