Claxton, Norfolk
Encyclopedia
Claxton is a small village 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south-east of Norwich
, and south of the River Yare
, between Rockland St. Mary and Loddon
in South Norfolk
, England. In the 2001 census
it contained 85 households and a population of 244. Just to the south lie the small villages of Ashby St Mary
and Carleton St Peter
.
To the east of the village are the remains of Claxton Castle
, which dates from the mid-14th century, licences to crenellate having been granted in 1340 and 1376. Situated on private land in the grounds of Claxton Manor House it comprises a massive brick-and-flint wall 130 feet (39.6 m) long with six bastions. Claxton Manor House itself was built in the reign of Elizabeth I but has a Victorian façade. The Manor was bought in 1946 by Major Derek Allhusen
, who achieved fame as a horseman winning team gold and individual silver
at the 1968 Summer Olympics
. Derek Allhusen died in 2000..
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To the south-west of the village lies Claxton Church. It is thought that the Saxon
settlement which would have been built around it moved down to the marsh edge in the Middle Ages
. The church has a thatched scissor-beam roof with basketweave
sarking
. The flint tower is unbuttressed and dates from the 14th century, though much restored.
Between 1926 and 1936 a narrow gauge railway ran the 1 miles (1.6 km) from Claxton Manor Farm in the village north to the south bank of the River Yare. In 1928 it was extended south to Staines Barn, just east of the church. It was used to transport sugar beet bound for the factory at Cantley
which was loaded onto wherries
at the river. It used 2 feet (609.6 mm) gauge jubilee track and a converted Model T Ford as motive power.
A windmill once stood at the eastern end of the village on Mill Lane. It was demolished in 1945 as it was thought to be a landmark for enemy aircraft. A Spitfire
crash-landed in Claxton Marsh to the north of the village in the same year and is now on display at Flixton Aviation Museum.
Claxton no longer has a pub (closed 1974), post office (closed 1977) or school (closed 1981), although a combined shop and petrol station survived until 2002. It does have a village hall which it shares with Carleton St Peter. The current hall was opened in 1984 and is home to a social club founded in 1987 and licensed for the sale of alcohol.
Claxton is served by bus route 001 operated by Anglian Coaches providing two services a day into Norwich
via Rockland St Mary, Bramerton
and Kirby Bedon
—
Timetable. It also lies on National Cycle Route 1 on its route from Norwich to Beccles
via Loddon
.
Founded in 2004, Claxton Opera
stages annual performances in the Old Meeting House. This was once a Strict and Particular Baptist chapel erected in the 1750s and could hold 500 in its heyday, but finally closed for worship in 1943. It is now a private house but the living room becomes a theatre for two or three months a year when the annual opera is staged.
South of the village on the banks of Carleton Beck lies Ducan's Marsh
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
and one of the richest areas of unimproved wet grassland in East Norfolk.
There is now an official village web-site with up to date information on village and parish affairs.
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, and south of the River Yare
River Yare
The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches the river connects with the navigable waterways of The Broads....
, between Rockland St. Mary and Loddon
Loddon, Norfolk
Loddon is a small market town about southeast of Norwich on the River Chet, a tributary of the River Yare within The Broads in Norfolk, England. The name "Loddon" is thought to mean muddy river in Celtic in reference to the Chet.-Origins:...
in South Norfolk
South Norfolk
South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton.-History:The district was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of Diss Urban District, Wymondham Urban District, Depwade Rural District, Forehoe and Henstead...
, England. In the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
it contained 85 households and a population of 244. Just to the south lie the small villages of Ashby St Mary
Ashby St Mary
Ashby St Mary is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 297 in 115 households...
and Carleton St Peter
Carleton St Peter
Carleton St Peter is a civil parish in South Norfolk approximately south-east of Norwich. There is no village center but the Church provides a reference point and is north-east of Thurton, and a similar distance south of Claxton, just east of Ashby St Mary....
.
To the east of the village are the remains of Claxton Castle
Claxton Castle
Claxton Castle was in the village of Claxton in Norfolk some 13 km south-east of Norwich.-Details:This brick built castle was licensed in 1333. It was largely demolished in the 17th century to build Claxton Hall. Part of its outer wall and one tower remain...
, which dates from the mid-14th century, licences to crenellate having been granted in 1340 and 1376. Situated on private land in the grounds of Claxton Manor House it comprises a massive brick-and-flint wall 130 feet (39.6 m) long with six bastions. Claxton Manor House itself was built in the reign of Elizabeth I but has a Victorian façade. The Manor was bought in 1946 by Major Derek Allhusen
Derek Allhusen
Major Derek Swithin Allhusen, CVO was an English equestrian who was a 54 year old grandfather when he rode Lochinvar to team gold and individual silver medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico....
, who achieved fame as a horseman winning team gold and individual silver
Equestrian at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Equestrian competitions at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico featured team and individual competitions in show jumping, eventing, and dressage.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:...
at the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
. Derek Allhusen died in 2000..
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To the south-west of the village lies Claxton Church. It is thought that the Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
settlement which would have been built around it moved down to the marsh edge in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The church has a thatched scissor-beam roof with basketweave
Basketweave
Basketweave is an all-over texture resembling a weave commonly found in baskets and created from interwoven lengths of natural or man-made materials such as cane, willow, linen, plastic or wire.-See also:* Basket weaving* Basketweave * Weaving...
sarking
Sarking
Sarking is the use of wood panels, or "sarking boards", under the shingles of a roof to provide support. It is a common term in Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. The shingles or slates are nailed directly to the sarking boards without timber battens, providing a strong, wind-resistant roof...
. The flint tower is unbuttressed and dates from the 14th century, though much restored.
Between 1926 and 1936 a narrow gauge railway ran the 1 miles (1.6 km) from Claxton Manor Farm in the village north to the south bank of the River Yare. In 1928 it was extended south to Staines Barn, just east of the church. It was used to transport sugar beet bound for the factory at Cantley
Cantley
Cantley could be :*Cantley, Norfolk, a village in the county of Norfolk, England*Cantley, South Yorkshire, a suburb of Doncaster, England*Cantley, Quebec, a town in the province of Quebec, Canada*Lewis C. Cantley, an American cell biologist...
which was loaded onto wherries
Norfolk wherry
The Norfolk wherry is a type of boat on The Broads in Norfolk, England. Three main types were developed over its life, all featuring the distinctive gaff rig with a single, high-peaked sail and the mast stepped well forward.-Development of the wherry:...
at the river. It used 2 feet (609.6 mm) gauge jubilee track and a converted Model T Ford as motive power.
A windmill once stood at the eastern end of the village on Mill Lane. It was demolished in 1945 as it was thought to be a landmark for enemy aircraft. A Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
crash-landed in Claxton Marsh to the north of the village in the same year and is now on display at Flixton Aviation Museum.
Claxton no longer has a pub (closed 1974), post office (closed 1977) or school (closed 1981), although a combined shop and petrol station survived until 2002. It does have a village hall which it shares with Carleton St Peter. The current hall was opened in 1984 and is home to a social club founded in 1987 and licensed for the sale of alcohol.
Claxton is served by bus route 001 operated by Anglian Coaches providing two services a day into Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
via Rockland St Mary, Bramerton
Bramerton
Bramerton is a village in South Norfolk 4¾ miles south-east of Norwich, just north of the main A146 Norwich-Lowestoft road and on the south bank of the River Yare. In the 2001 census it contained 158 households and a population of 350.-The village:...
and Kirby Bedon
Kirby Bedon
Kirby Bedon is a small village in South Norfolk which lies approximately 3½ miles southeast of Norwich on the road to Bramerton. It covers an area of and had a population of 186 in 77 households as of the 2001 census....
—
Timetable. It also lies on National Cycle Route 1 on its route from Norwich to Beccles
Beccles
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...
via Loddon
Loddon, Norfolk
Loddon is a small market town about southeast of Norwich on the River Chet, a tributary of the River Yare within The Broads in Norfolk, England. The name "Loddon" is thought to mean muddy river in Celtic in reference to the Chet.-Origins:...
.
Founded in 2004, Claxton Opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
stages annual performances in the Old Meeting House. This was once a Strict and Particular Baptist chapel erected in the 1750s and could hold 500 in its heyday, but finally closed for worship in 1943. It is now a private house but the living room becomes a theatre for two or three months a year when the annual opera is staged.
South of the village on the banks of Carleton Beck lies Ducan's Marsh
Ducan's Marsh, Claxton
Ducan's Marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest lying between around 9 miles south-east of Norwich lying between Claxton and Carleton St Peter in Norfolk, on the banks of Carleton Beck, a small tributary of the River Yare...
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
and one of the richest areas of unimproved wet grassland in East Norfolk.
There is now an official village web-site with up to date information on village and parish affairs.
External links
- Ordnance Survey Pathfinder (1:25000) map of Claxton
- Claxton Church
- Claxton Castle
- Claxton Smock mill
- Ducan's Marsh
- Claxton Opera
- http://www.claxtonpc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk