Economic and Social History
The clockmakers Samuel Knibb (1625–70), Joseph Knibb (1640–1711) and John Knibb (1650–1722) were born at Claydon. Joseph and John were brothers and Samuel was a cousin. Samuel traded in Newport Pagnell from about 1655 to 1663, when he moved to London and went into a partnership making instruments as well as clocks. Joseph traded in Oxford from about 1663, but when Samuel died in 1670 Joseph moved to London and took over his business. John joined Joseph in Oxford in about 1664, took over their Oxford business when Joseph moved to London in 1670 and was Mayor of Oxford in 1697 and 1710. On 26 September 2010 the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board unveiled a blue plaque at Claydon to Samuel, Joseph and John Knibb.
Historic houses in Claydon include Manor Farm built in 1720 and Claydon House built in 1852. In 1867 the vicar, Rev. G.W. Palmer, bought Claydon House to be the vicarage and had it altered by the architect Edwin Dolby. In 1958 Claydon House was sold and returned to being a private house.
Between 1753 and 1763 Claydon had three public houses. By 1781 this had fallen to two, and from 1841 the number of pubs in the village fluctuated between one and two until the latter part of the 20th century. The New Inn had closed by 1969 and the Sunrising Inn closed January 1990.
Construction of the Oxford Canal began north of Coventry in 1769. In May 1776 it reached Fenny Compton in Warwickshire, 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Claydon. and by November 1777 the canal had been extended to Cropredy in Oxfordshire, passing through Claydon parish by skirting the north and east sides of the hill on which Claydon stands. On the east side of the hill the canal's engineer Samuel Simcock built Claydon Locks, a flight of five locks that begins the canal's southward descent from its 11-mile long summit pound. Between them the five locks achieve a total rise (i.e. change in water level) of 30.5 feet (9.3 m).
An open field system of farming prevailed in the parish until 1776 when an Act of Parliament enclosed the common lands of the parish.
In 1852 the Great Western Railway extended its Oxford and Rugby Railway through the western edge of Claydon parish to a new railway station at Fenny Compton. In 1872–73 the East and West Junction Railway built a line from its Fenny Compton West railway station to Towcester through glebe land in the north of Claydon parish. Claydon's nearest station was 2.5 miles (4 km) to the south at Cropredy, until British Railways closed it in 1956.
Claydon and Clattercote School Board was established in 1875 and opened Claydon village school in 1877. The school closed in 1948.
In 1932 the hamlet of Clattercote, 0.5 miles (800 m) south of Claydon, was added to the civil parish to form the present parish of Claydon with Clattercote.
Read more about this topic: Claydon, Oxfordshire
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