Rutland

Rutland (/ˈrʌtlənd/), sometimes archaically called Rutlandshire,^[2] is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town.

Rutland has an area of 382 km² (147 sq mi) and a population of 41,049, the second-smallest

There is little evidence of Prehistoric settlement in the county, though Roman habitation is suggested by the discovery of a large Roman mosaic and probable farming complex just west of Ketton.^[4] It was certainly settled by the Angles from the fifth century and later formed part of Mercia. It is not mentioned as a distinct county until 1179, and during the Domesday Survey was treated as part of Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire. During the High Middle Ages much of the county was forested and used as hunting grounds, a tradition which continues to the present with packs such as the Cottesmore Hunt. The county's main industry is agriculture, with wool being particularly important in the sixteenth century, and there is a limestone quarry near Ketton. Rutland bitter is a distinctive ale associated with the village of Langham.^[5][6][7][8]

Etymology

Rutland is referred to as Roteland in the

Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England held in the Manners family, derived from the historic county of Rutland. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged. The family seat is Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire.

The office of High Sheriff of Rutland was instituted in 1129, and there has been a Lord Lieutenant of Rutland since at least 1559. Oakham Castle was built c. 1180–1190 and is "one of the nation’s best-preserved Norman buildings" and is a Grade I listed building.^[12]

By the time of the 19th century it had been divided into the

Rutland covered parts of three

Oakham Urban District was created from Oakham Rural District in 1911. It was subsequently abolished in 1974.^[14]

Rutland was included in the "East Midlands General Review Area" of the 1958–67 Local Government Commission for England. Draft recommendations would have seen Rutland split, with Ketton Rural District going along with Stamford to a new administrative county of Cambridgeshire, and the western part added to Leicestershire. The final proposals were less radical and instead proposed that Rutland become a single rural district within the administrative county of Leicestershire.^[15]

District of Leicestershire (1974–1997)

Rutland became a

Unitary authority (1997–present)

In 1994, the

Rutland was a postal county until the Royal Mail integrated it into the Leicestershire postal county in 1974. After a lengthy campaign,^[16] and despite counties no longer being required for postal purposes,^[17] the Royal Mail agreed to re-create a postal county of Rutland in 2007. This was achieved in January 2008 by amending the former postal county for all of the Oakham (LE15) post town and a small part of the Market Harborough (LE16) post town.^[18]

Politics and subdivisions

Rutland County Council

Following the 2023 council elections, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest group and subsequently formed a cabinet led by Gale Waller.^[19]

Wards

As from the May 2019 elections, there are 27 councillors representing 15

As of the 2019 general election, Alicia Kearns is the member of parliament for Rutland and Melton, having received 62.6% of the vote.

Civil parishes

The county comprises 57 civil parishes, which range considerably in size and population, from Martinsthorpe (nil population) to Oakham (10,922 residents in the 2011 census).

Demographics

The population in the 2011 Census was 37,369, a rise of 8% on the 2001 total of 34,563. The population saw a nearly 1% increase in the population at the 2021 Census with a recorded population of 41,049.

At the 2021 Census, the demographics for the county were recorded as follow:

Rutland had a recorded population of 41,049 at the 2021 census, an increase from the previous population recorded of 37,369 at the 2011 census and 34,563 at the 2001 census.^[23] In the 2021 Census, there was an estimated 21,072 men and 19,977 women living in Rutland.^{[citation needed]}

The county had an ethnicity makeup at the 2021 Census of:

• 94.8% White - 38,909

• 1.5% Asian - 647

• 1.3% Black - 552

• 1.8% Mixed - 744

• 0.5% other - 198

The county's religious makeup at the 2021 Census was:

• 55.4% Christianity - 22,728

• 37.1% no religion - 15,239

• 0.6% Islam - 258

• 0.2% Sikhism - 67

• 0.3% Hinduism - 125

• 0.4% Buddhism - 150

• 0.1% Judaism - 53

• 0.5% other - 201

• 5.4% not stated - ???

In 2006 it was reported that Rutland has the highest

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Rutland were the 6th most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 27.4% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.^[25]

In 2012, the well-being report by the Office for National Statistics^[26] found Rutland to be the "happiest county" in the mainland UK.^[27]

Geography

The particular geology of the area has given its name to the Rutland Formation, which was formed from muds and sand carried down by rivers and occurring as bands of different colours, each with many fossil shells at the bottom. The formation has also preserved a well-preserved specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Cetiosaurus oxienensis^[28] at Great Casterton, currently on display at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery. At the bottom of the Rutland Formation is a bed of dirty white sandy silt. Under the Rutland Formation is a formation called the Lincolnshire limestone. The best exposure of this limestone (and also the Rutland Formation) is at the Ketton Cement Works quarry just outside Ketton.^[29]

Rutland is dominated by Rutland Water, a large artificial lake formerly known as "Empingham Reservoir", in the middle of the county, which is almost bisected by the Hambleton Peninsula. The west part is in the Vale of Catmose. Rutland Water, when construction started in 1971, became Europe's largest man-made lake; construction was completed in 1975, and filling the lake took a further four years. This has been voted Rutland's favourite tourist attraction.

The highest point of the county is at

• River Chater
• Eye Brook
• River Gwash
• River Welland

Economy

There are 17,000 people of working age in Rutland, of which the highest percentage (30.8%) work in Public Administration, Education and Health, closely followed by 29.7% in Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants and 16.7% in Manufacturing industries. Significant employers include

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire and Rutland at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.[33]

^ includes hunting and forestry

^ includes energy and construction

^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

As far as the NHS is concerned Rutland is generally treated as part of Leicestershire.

Transport

A small part of the

Rutland was the last county in England without a direct rail service to London (apart from the Isle of Wight and several administrative counties which are unitary authorities). East Midlands Trains started running a single service from Oakham railway station to London St Pancras via Corby on 27 April 2009.^[34]

Through the Rutland Electric Car Project, Rutland was the first county to offer a county-wide public electric-vehicle charging network.^[35]

In popular culture

Rutland's small size has led to a number of humorous references such as Rutland Weekend Television, a television comedy sketch series hosted by Eric Idle. The county is the supposed home of the parody rock band The Rutles, who first appeared on Rutland Weekend Television.

The events in several Peter F. Hamilton books (including Misspent Youth and Mindstar Rising) are situated in Rutland, where the author lives. Adam Croft is writing the Rutland crime series, beginning with What Lies Beneath (2020).

Rutland was the last county in England without a McDonald's restaurant.^[36] However, in January 2020 a planning application for a McDonald's restaurant on the outskirts of Oakham was approved by the County Council^[37] and the restaurant opened on 4 November 2020.^[38]

Traditions

Rutland's traditions include:

• Letting of the Banks (Whissendine): The Banks are pasture land and the letting traditionally occurs in the third week of March
• Rush Bearing and Rush Strewing (Barrowden): Reeds are gathered in the church meadow on the eve of St Peter's Day and placed on the church floor (late June, early July)
• Uppingham Market was granted by Charter in 1281 by
  Edward I
  .
• According to tradition, any royalty or peers passing through Oakham must present a horseshoe to the Lord of the Manor of Oakham. The horseshoe has been Rutland's emblem for hundreds of years.

Education

Harington School provides post-16 education in the county. Rutland County College closed in 2017.

Places of interest

• Barnsdale Gardens
• Lyddington Bede House
• Oakham Castle
• Rutland County Museum, Oakham
• Rutland Railway Museum, Ashwell
• Rutland Water
• Tolethorpe Hall
• The Viking Way
• Rutland Water Nature Reserve

See also

• Flag of Rutland
• High Sheriff of Rutland
• List of birds of Leicestershire and Rutland
• Lord Lieutenant of Rutland
• Kesteven
• Parts of Holland
• Soke of Peterborough
• Rutland travel guide from Wikivoyage

References

Bibliography

• Phillips, George (1912). Cambridge County Geography of Rutland. University Press. ASIN B00085ZZ5M.
• Rycroft, Simon; Roscoe, Barbara; Rycroft, Simon (1996). "Landscape and Identity at Ladybower Reservoir and Rutland Water". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 21 (3). Blackwell Publishing: 534–551.
  JSTOR 622595
  .
• Galitzine, Prince Yuri (1986). Domesday book in Rutland: The Dramatis personae (PDF). Rutland Record Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rutland.

• Rutland at
  Curlie
• Rutland County Council
• Rutland Local History & Record Society

52°39′N 0°38′W / 52.650°N 0.633°W / 52.650; -0.633