The Story of the village

Clifton and the neighbouring village of Newton overlook the M6, the M1 and main railway lines to London and the continent, the sky line is dominated by the four remaining eight hundred foot masts of Rugby Radio station.

But the villages first came into existence in Celtic times. Although the Romans by-passed the village they chose the Clifton ridge as the place to fight the Celtic tribes led by Boudicca. That battle in AD 60 was a deciding moment in our history during which about 80,000 Celts were slaughtered. As a result the Roman occupation of most of Briton was secured for the next 400 years. In those days the villages were remote, quiet, agricultural settlements, two of six such settlements that surrounded the tiny Iron Age market village of Rugby. Both villages are recorded in the Doomsday Book, the entry for Clifton shows that there was a priest in the village and a church dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.

Nothing now remains of that church, the present stone building dates back to the 13th century, with many later additions. At that time St. Mary's was an important church to which the people of Rugby came to worship.

Reliable church records of baptisms, marriages and deaths are available in the registers kept at St Mary's from 1595 onward. We have typed copies of the registers and an indexed database. The database has been integrated with census records up to 1881.We hold, or have access to, much of the history of the village from its Saxon origins to the present day.

If you're tracing families, or want information on the local gentry, then contact us by phone or email.

Cottages in South Road known as "Top Row" demolished in the late 1940's.