Claxton is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Claxton is located north of

Loddon Loddon may refer to: Places *Loddon, Norfolk in England, UK *Shire of Loddon, a local government area in Victoria, Australia (since 1995) **Bridgewater On Loddon, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia Rivers *River Loddon, a tributary of the Riv ...

and south-east of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. The village is located south of the

River Yare The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network. The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the villag ...

and to the north of the small villages of

Ashby St Mary Ashby St Mary, historically Ascebei, is a small 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, the population increasing to 316 in 1 ...

and Carleton St Peter.

History

The origin of Claxton's name is uncertain but it derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for either the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

''Klakkr's'' or the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

''Clacc's'' settlement. In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, Claxton is described as a settlement of 44 households located in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Lodding. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Roger Bigot and

Godric the Steward Godric or Godric the Steward or Godric dapifer (died 1114) was an Englishman around the time of the Norman Conquest. Godric was a native Englishman who was the dapifer, or steward, of the Earl of East Anglia, Ralph de Gael. Godric may have been a ...

. 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 long with six

bastions A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

. Claxton Manor House itself was built in the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

but has a Victorian façade. The Manor was bought in 1946 by Major

Derek Allhusen Major Derek Swithin Allhusen, CVO (9 January 1914 – 24 April 2000) 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. Derek ...

, who achieved fame as a horseman winning team gold and individual silver at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. Derek Allhusen died in 2000. Claxton Castle

Between 1926 and 1936 a narrow gauge railway ran the 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 gauge jubilee track and a converted

Model T Ford The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...

as motive power. Claxton Opera

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 The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

crash-landed in Claxton Marsh to the north of the village in the same year and is now on display at the

Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum is a museum collection of aircraft and aviation-related artefacts, located near the former RAF Bungay airfield in Flixton in the north of the English county of Suffolk. Details First established in 197 ...

. 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
Claxton Village Hall
is shared 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.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Claxton has a population of 298 people which shows a minor increase from the 291 people recorded in the 2011 census. Claxton is served by bus route 85 operated by Our Bus providing three services a day into

via Rockland St Mary,

Bramerton Bramerton is a village and civil parish in the England, English county of Norfolk. Bramerton is located north-west of Loddon, Norfolk, Loddon and south-east of Norwich. History Bramerton's name is of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon origin and d ...

and

Kirby Bedon Kirby Bedon is a hamlet in South Norfolk which lies approximately 3½ miles (5½ km) south-east of Norwich on the road to Bramerton. It covers an area of and had a population of 186 in 77 households at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 ...

. It also lies on

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal, Kent, Deal , Sandwich, Kent, Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, RCR 16, Kent, Regional route 16, and RCR 17, Kent, Regional r ...

on its route from Norwich to

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

via

. South of the village on the banks of Carleton Beck lies Ducan's Marsh, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and one of the richest areas of unimproved wet grassland in East Norfolk.

St. Andrew's Church

Claxton's parish church is dedicated to

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

and is located on Church Lane. The church dates to the Twelfth Century and has been Grade I listed since 1960. St. Andrews' boasts a thatched scissor-beam roof with

basketweave Basketweave is a structure that exists in many textile arts. It consists of multiple horizontal strands and vertical strands, resulting in a square pattern associated with woven baskets. It is used in the following textile arts: * Basket weaving ...

sarking Sarking is an English word with multiple meanings in roof construction: * The use of wood panels, or "sarking boards", called ''sheathing'', ''sheeting'' or ''decking'' in American English, under the roof-covering materials such as the shingles ...

with a flint tower. The church was lightly restored in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

but retains much of its simplistic Medieval charm. Claxton has a Strict and Particular Baptist chapel erected in the 1750s and could hold 500 in its heyday, but finally closed for worship in 1943. Claxton Opera staged occasional performances in the Old Meeting House from 2004 to 2013.It is now a private home.

Notable Residents

* Major Derek Allhusen CVO- (1914-2000) Olympic equestrian, lived in Claxton.

Governance

Claxton is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Rockland for local elections and is part of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

. The village's national constituency is

which has been represented by the Labour's Ben Goldsborough MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Claxton's war memorial is a small marble plaque located in the porch of St. Andrew's Church. It lists the following names for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

: There is no war memorial for Claxton for casualties of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

Claxton Church

Ducan's Marsh

Claxton Opera
* https://archive.today/20120410115344/http://www.claxtonpc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/ {{authority control Villages in Norfolk South Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk