Clopton, Northamptonshire

Clopton
St Peter's Church
Clopton is located in Northamptonshire
Clopton
Clopton
Location within Northamptonshire
Population134 
OS grid referenceTL0680
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townKettering
Postcode districtNN14
Dialling code01832
PoliceNorthamptonshire
FireNorthamptonshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northamptonshire
52°24′44″N 0°26′09″W / 52.4121°N 0.4357°W / 52.4121; -0.4357

Clopton is a small village and civil parish located in North Northamptonshire, close to the Cambridgeshire border. The village stretches along the north side of the B662 and was recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Clotone'. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 134 people.[1] The Village Church of St Peter was built in about 1863 by Richard Armstrong.

In 1395, the noblewoman Agnes Hotot married into the Dudley family at Clopton. Before her marriage, she was known for besting a man in a lance fight; when her ailing father was unable to meet the arranged dueling challenge, Hotot took his place, disguising herself in his armour. She knocked her opponent off his horse – and then revealed her true identity. The Dudley family later created a new crest in honour of her victory.[2][3]

The village is reputed to be haunted by a ghost known as Skulking Dudley, who lived in the area in the 14th century. Skulking Dudley Coppice is named after him.[4]

  1. ^ Office for National Statistics: Clopton CP: Parish headcounts. Retrieved 8 November 2009
  2. ^ Grazebrook, Henry Sydney (1873). The heraldry of Worcestershire. John Russell Smith. p. 177. heiress agnes hotot.
  3. ^ Dobson, Susanna Dawson (1795). Historical anecdotes of heraldry and chivalry: tending to shew the origin of many English and foreign coats of arms, circumstances and customs. Printed by Hall and Brandish. p. 230. agnes hotot knight.
  4. ^ Saint, David. "Skulking in the woods - Northampton Chronicle and Echo". Northampton Chronicle & Echo. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2014.