Are you going to Clarborough Fair?

After Jeemy’s briefing we caught up on the news of absent friends - caused injuries (Tony, Dave) and flooding (Chris) - before setting off under overcast skies.

Soon, as promised, the skies cleared and we had blue skies for a couple of hours. We had our coffee stop in North Wheatley before following tracks to Clarborough, where we had lunch in the churchyard.

A local bellringer, working there, invited us in to see the wonderful improvements recently made to the inside the church - tiled floor with underfloor heating, fancy lighting, a new organ, etc. Near the porch is an old yew tree, mentioned in the Domesday Book.

Drinks in the Kings Arms were followed by a four mile walk alongside the Chesterfield Canal back to Clayworth. Thanks to Jeremy for an interesting and to Peter for

backmarking.

Places of interest

St. Peter’s Church

The church is located along Wiseton Road which runs through the village. The tower of the 12th century St Peter's Church, dedicated to St Peter has many old historical inscriptions, it also has a Saxon base surmounted in turn by masonry with Norman windows and a Perpendicular battlemented top. The church was restored in 1874. The oldest memorial in the church is a floorstone which holds a worn inscription to a rector, dating to 1448. The Traquair murals are located in the church. Completed in 1905 by Scottish artist Phoebe Anna Traquair, these are one of only two mural pieces by her outside Scotland, and are the largest mural work in the East Midlands. They were later restored in 1996 by Elizabeth Hirst.

Clayworth’s war memorial is dedicated to the 12 soldiers from Clayworth who died during the Great War and the 6 who were killed in the Second World War. The names are borne on a roll of honour inside St. Peter’s Church.

St John the Baptist’s Church Clarborough

This is a Grade I listed Church of England parish church dating from the 13th century. It was restored in 1874 by James Fowler of Louth. The 1086 Domesday Book does not mention a church at Clarborough. There is evidence that a church was established by 1103, as half of its income was donated by William de Lovetot. The original building began construction in 1258 when Sewal de Bovil, the Archbishop of York, stipulated that the vicar of Clarborough should have the altarage, with the toft and croft lying next to the churchyard, and the tithes of

the inclosed crofts of the town. The parish church of St John the Baptist was founded in 1260 which, with Manor Farm near the church, became the focus of the village.

A churchyard yew tree is possibly over 1,000 years old.

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