Went up as century came to a close (8)
I believe the answer is:
ascended
'went up' is the definition.
('ascend' can be a synonym of 'go up')
'as century came to a close' is the wordplay.
'century' becomes 'C' (common abbreviation).
'came to a close' becomes 'ended' (I've seen this in another clue).
'as'+'c'+'ended'='ASCENDED'
(Other definitions for ascended that I've seen before include "R [ROSE]" , "Climbed, went up" .)