Clipstone in north Nottinghamshire is a small ex-coal mining village built on the site of an old army base and close to the site of a medieval royal palace. The population of the civil parish was 3,469 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,665 at the 2011 census.
The earliest historical reference to the settlement is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where the village is mentioned as “Clipestune”. Subsequent written sources use the forms “Clipestone”, “Clippeston”, “Clipiston”. The place-name Clipstone seems to contain an Old Norse personal name, Klyppr, with tun (Old English), an enclosure or farmstead, so ‘Klyppr’s farm or settlement’.
Clipstone is split into two areas – New Clipstone, approximately four miles from Mansfield town, and Kings Clipstone slightly further away, formerly known as Old Clipstone until 2003 when the ancient name of Kings Clipstone was resurrected. Both settlements lie alongside the B6030 road.
New Clipstone (commonly known as just ‘Clipstone’) is the most diverse area with both old and new homes, a library, primary school and village hall as well as a few shops and pubs, including Clipstone Welfare, which was used for scenes in the 2007 film Control. The old Clipstone Colliery site lies within the New Clipstone area, still having the tall prominent headstocks.
On the southern edge of the village is Vicar Water Country Park, developed from Vicar Water and the former spoil tips from the colliery, forming a landscape of hills and ponds with a controversial ‘Golden Hand’ sculpture, said to represent the village’s mining heritage.
Most of the village is within Newark and Sherwood district council area, with a small section in the west near Forest Town in the Mansfield council area. The Garibaldi College is just inside Mansfield district. A large modern housing development close to New Clipstone but previously considered as part of ‘Old Clipstone’/Kings Clipstone was reclassified as being in Clipstone after a boundary realignment in late 2009.
The local football team is Clipstone Welfare. The village is close to Sherwood Forest. Nearby is the medium-wave transmitter for Radio Nottingham. There is also a slaughterhouse.
Kings Clipstone (previously known as Old Clipstone) is the oldest part in a rural setting with some old stone buildings, noted for its relatively ‘undeveloped’ character. The local Dog and Duck pub is the only social place to meet.