Clifton-upon-Dunsmore | |
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Clifton-upon-Dunsmore shown within Warwickshire | |
Population | 1,304 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SP529764 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | RUGBY |
Postcode district | CV23 |
Dialling code | 01788 |
Police | Warwickshire |
Fire | Warwickshire |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
EU Parliament | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire in England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 1,304.
Clifton bears the distinction of being the most easterly village in Warwickshire (and of the entire West Midlands region). It is located roughly two miles east of Rugby. The village is located upon a hill, and the Oxford Canal runs past at the foot of the hill. To the north of the village is the River Avon.
Three-quarters of a mile east of Clifton is Dow Bridge - the point at which the A5 road (Watling Street) crosses over the River Avon, and the counties of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire meet. Clifton once had a railway station on the former Rugby to Market Harborough railway line, which opened in 1864. The station was closed in 1953, and the line in 1966.
The village has its origins in pre-Roman times as an agricultural settlement. Roman remains have been found in the parish, unsurprising given its proximity to Tripontium. Clifton is recorded in the Domesday Book as possessing a church dedicated to St. Mary. That church no longer exists, though the present one (of the same name) dates back to the 13th century.
The village was once home to Rugby Racecourse, which is still used annually for point-to-point races. The National Hunt Cup, now part of the Cheltenham Festival, was held nearby in 1862