Clophill Church
Encyclopedia
The old St Marys Church in Clophill
is located at the edge of the small village between Bedford
and Luton
, in the South East of England
. The abandoned Church is estimated to be up to 400 years old, but was replaced by a Victorian church built in 1848 in the centre of the village, rendering it obsolete; the new church is also known as St Mary's.
The Church sits on the top of the Greensand Ridge
and enjoys spectacular views over the surrounding countryside as well as being a haven for flowers and wildlife.
The church is sometimes known as the black magic church.
In 1898, the church was seemingly intact but redundant and was described as "containing several interesting memorial tablets to the Rev. Charles Fletcher M.A., 1753, the Rev. William Pierce Nethersole, vicar of Pulloxhill, 1799, and another to members of the family of the Rev. Ezekiel Rouse: the roof is of ancient oak. The register dates from the year 1568"..
The Old Church in Clophill is not the responsibility of the Church of England anymore, nor is it a consecrated place of worship. The Old Church is now legally the responsibility of Central Bedfordshire Council.
, Clophill is a scheduled ancient monument. It was built around 1500 on the site of a much older church. The first recorded vicar was Robert, priest of Clophill in 1145. However the village of Clophill is much older and evidence suggests that the site has been considered holy since Celtic times, as evidenced by the fact that the church is situated on a hill to the north east of Clophill village. It is said that in 1122 the villagers proclaimed it as the Gateway to Hell.
In Victorian times it was simply too small to be able to cope with the size of congregation so it was decided to build a new much larger church down in the village. This was consecrated in 1848 and the old church, with its chancel having been removed, was used as a mortuary chapel for the grave yard that remains in use by the village.
In 1956 the lead was stolen from the roof of the old church and the decision was made, with great regret, to remove what could be salvaged to the new St Mary's Church in the village and allow the old church to decay gracefully as a ruin. With the windows and roof removed it was left as a shell.
This has proved unfortunate as it has opened the church to others whose intention has been less reverent. In 1963 one of the stone box graves was opened and the bones of Jenny Humberstone, an apothecary's wife who had died in the 1770s, were scattered about in what is generally considered to be a crude attempt at black magic. Further graves were similarly desecrated in 1969 and 1975.
This, and the proximity of the village to the A6 site of the Hanratty murder of 1961, combined to give the church a sinister reputation for the occult which it has never managed to shake off. Visitors looking for paranormal phenomena have reported faint lights that disappear when they reach the church and so a myth has grown that the church is haunted. However, villagers who visit the church every day to care for it and clear up rubbish left by visitors do not seem to have experienced anything unusual.
Several claims have developed around St Mary's Church in order to explain the supernatural tales. These include a popular claim that the church is orientated incorrectly. Actually, it is orientated due east, towards Jerusalem, as are many other churches. The Christian church does not recognise any orientation to be "incorrect" or "Satanic" and there are many other churches that are not orientated due east. Other myths include that it was built on the site of a leper colony in which villagers infected with the plague during the Black Death were abandoned to die. No evidence has yet come to light to suggest that this may be correct.
In more recent years the church has been used as a gathering point for illegal drug distribution and has suffered substantial vandalism as a result, much to the distress of villagers and residents along Church Path. This has reduced more recently since the installation of CCTV cameras, along with increased police presence and a few prosecutions.
walk, with a full time warden on site. This would preserve and respect the old structure and would not be visible from the outside, leaving the impression that the building is still a ruin. It would also use micro-generation for power and be an exemplar of eco-friendly best practice. Clophill sits exactly half way along the route of the walk, which passes through the old churchyard by the church, so is ideally placed to offer a resting spot as the number of walkers on the ridge rises.
rituals had gone on within the Church. Graves had been desecrated and a human skull was discovered impaled on a spike inside the Church. Human bones were also found on the ground beneath the skull and had been arranged on a makeshift altar, along with the remains of a dead cockerel. Strange crosses and symbols were also found carved on the walls. Similar incidents in 1969 and 1975 again included the scattering of bones throughout the Church yard.
The site has been a fairground of paranormal
activity and unwanted attention since the attraction given to the site by the exaggerated stories in the press. It attracts visitors from far and wide looking for ghosts and other paranormal activity.
Clophill
Clophill, is a small village and civil parish located in the Flit river valley, Bedfordshire, England. At this time the village belonged to a group of two or three hamlets – Beadlow, Cainhoe and possibly Moddry.It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clopelle; meaning tree-stump Hill in old...
is located at the edge of the small village between Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
and Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, in the South East of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The abandoned Church is estimated to be up to 400 years old, but was replaced by a Victorian church built in 1848 in the centre of the village, rendering it obsolete; the new church is also known as St Mary's.
The Church sits on the top of the Greensand Ridge
Greensand Ridge
The Greensand Ridge is an extensive, prominent, often heavily wooded, sandstone escarpment and range of hills in south-east England. It runs in a horseshoe shape around the Weald of Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It reaches its highest elevation, , at Leith Hill in Surrey—the second highest point...
and enjoys spectacular views over the surrounding countryside as well as being a haven for flowers and wildlife.
The church is sometimes known as the black magic church.
In 1898, the church was seemingly intact but redundant and was described as "containing several interesting memorial tablets to the Rev. Charles Fletcher M.A., 1753, the Rev. William Pierce Nethersole, vicar of Pulloxhill, 1799, and another to members of the family of the Rev. Ezekiel Rouse: the roof is of ancient oak. The register dates from the year 1568"..
The Old Church in Clophill is not the responsibility of the Church of England anymore, nor is it a consecrated place of worship. The Old Church is now legally the responsibility of Central Bedfordshire Council.
History
The ruined church of St Mary'sClophill Church
The old St Marys Church in Clophill is located at the edge of the small village between Bedford and Luton, in the South East of England. The abandoned Church is estimated to be up to 400 years old, but was replaced by a Victorian church built in 1848 in the centre of the village, rendering it...
, Clophill is a scheduled ancient monument. It was built around 1500 on the site of a much older church. The first recorded vicar was Robert, priest of Clophill in 1145. However the village of Clophill is much older and evidence suggests that the site has been considered holy since Celtic times, as evidenced by the fact that the church is situated on a hill to the north east of Clophill village. It is said that in 1122 the villagers proclaimed it as the Gateway to Hell.
In Victorian times it was simply too small to be able to cope with the size of congregation so it was decided to build a new much larger church down in the village. This was consecrated in 1848 and the old church, with its chancel having been removed, was used as a mortuary chapel for the grave yard that remains in use by the village.
In 1956 the lead was stolen from the roof of the old church and the decision was made, with great regret, to remove what could be salvaged to the new St Mary's Church in the village and allow the old church to decay gracefully as a ruin. With the windows and roof removed it was left as a shell.
This has proved unfortunate as it has opened the church to others whose intention has been less reverent. In 1963 one of the stone box graves was opened and the bones of Jenny Humberstone, an apothecary's wife who had died in the 1770s, were scattered about in what is generally considered to be a crude attempt at black magic. Further graves were similarly desecrated in 1969 and 1975.
This, and the proximity of the village to the A6 site of the Hanratty murder of 1961, combined to give the church a sinister reputation for the occult which it has never managed to shake off. Visitors looking for paranormal phenomena have reported faint lights that disappear when they reach the church and so a myth has grown that the church is haunted. However, villagers who visit the church every day to care for it and clear up rubbish left by visitors do not seem to have experienced anything unusual.
Several claims have developed around St Mary's Church in order to explain the supernatural tales. These include a popular claim that the church is orientated incorrectly. Actually, it is orientated due east, towards Jerusalem, as are many other churches. The Christian church does not recognise any orientation to be "incorrect" or "Satanic" and there are many other churches that are not orientated due east. Other myths include that it was built on the site of a leper colony in which villagers infected with the plague during the Black Death were abandoned to die. No evidence has yet come to light to suggest that this may be correct.
In more recent years the church has been used as a gathering point for illegal drug distribution and has suffered substantial vandalism as a result, much to the distress of villagers and residents along Church Path. This has reduced more recently since the installation of CCTV cameras, along with increased police presence and a few prosecutions.
Future
Now the old St Mary's church may have a completely new life in front of it. Plans are in progress to convert it into a bothy to provide overnight accommodation for walkers on the Greensand RidgeGreensand Ridge
The Greensand Ridge is an extensive, prominent, often heavily wooded, sandstone escarpment and range of hills in south-east England. It runs in a horseshoe shape around the Weald of Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It reaches its highest elevation, , at Leith Hill in Surrey—the second highest point...
walk, with a full time warden on site. This would preserve and respect the old structure and would not be visible from the outside, leaving the impression that the building is still a ruin. It would also use micro-generation for power and be an exemplar of eco-friendly best practice. Clophill sits exactly half way along the route of the walk, which passes through the old churchyard by the church, so is ideally placed to offer a resting spot as the number of walkers on the ridge rises.
Undesirable Activity
The Church made it onto the British headlines in 1963, when it was alleged that SatanicSatanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
rituals had gone on within the Church. Graves had been desecrated and a human skull was discovered impaled on a spike inside the Church. Human bones were also found on the ground beneath the skull and had been arranged on a makeshift altar, along with the remains of a dead cockerel. Strange crosses and symbols were also found carved on the walls. Similar incidents in 1969 and 1975 again included the scattering of bones throughout the Church yard.
The site has been a fairground of paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
activity and unwanted attention since the attraction given to the site by the exaggerated stories in the press. It attracts visitors from far and wide looking for ghosts and other paranormal activity.
External links
- Official Clophill Village Church Website
- British History article on Clophill, excerpt from 'A History of the County of Bedford Vol 2', written 1908 by William Page Clophill History
- British History article on Beadlow Priory, excerpt from 'A History of the County of Bedford Vol 1', written 1904 Beaulieu Priory
- Documentary about the Church by Michael McKirgan: Clophill church.
- Bedfordshire County Council information on Clophill Church: Clophill Church
- A new television documentary is in the process of being made about the 1963 incident, entitled The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1852137/