Clowne

Coordinates: 53°16′34″N 1°15′47″W / 53.276°N 1.263°W / 53.276; -1.263

Clowne (pronounced as Clown) is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, England. It forms part of the Bolsover constituency. Clowne lies 9 miles (14 km) north east of Chesterfield and 7 miles (11 km) south west of Worksop. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Clune. The name is derived from the Celtic Clun for a river.

History

Toponymy

Clowne, originally Clune, has been spelt in various ways over the last 1,000 years including, Cloune, Clone, Clowen, and most recently Clown. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Both of the railway stations in the village spelt their names differently at different times; they both started as "Clown", one was renamed twice, firstly as "Clown and Barlborough" (no "e") then as Clowne and Barlborough, the other was renamed Clowne South. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

Markland Grips

Between Clowne and Creswell, on the southern end of the band of magnesian limestone which runs south from Durham to the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border, are Hollinhill and Markland Grips, a series of valleys often with vertical cliff-like sides formed by meltwater action of receding glaciers at the end of the last Ice age. 'Grips' is the local term for this feature. In the cliff sides are several small caves, rock shelters and fissures where human bones, which have been carbon dated to the early Neolithic period, have been discovered. During the Roman period, a fort guarding an important ridgeway which ran north to south was close to Clowne. It was close to an even older Bronze Age fortification on a promontory north of Hollinhill Grips. The Grips are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, managed by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.