Rutland has an area of 382 km2 (147 sq mi) and a population of 41,049, the second-smallest ceremonial county population after theCity of London. The county is rural, and the only towns are Oakham (12,149) andUppingham (4,745), both in the west of the county; the largest settlement in the east is the village ofKetton (1,926). Forlocal government purposes Rutland is aunitary authority area. The county is the smallest of thehistoric counties of England.[6]
The geography of Rutland is characterised by low, rolling hills, the highest of which is a 197 m (646 ft) point inCold Overton Park.Rutland Water was created in the centre of the county in the 1970s; thereservoir is a nature reserve that serves as an overwintering site forwildfowl and a breeding site forospreys.
There is little evidence ofPrehistoric settlement in Rutland; however, aRoman mosaic and probable farming complex is located west of Ketton.[7] The area was settled by theAngles from the 5th century and later formed part of the kingdom ofMercia. Rutland was first mentioned as a distinct county in 1179, and during theHigh Middle Ages much of it was forested and used as hunting grounds. The wool trade was important during the 16th century. The older buildings in the county are built from locallimestone orironstone, with many having roofs ofCollyweston stone slate orthatch. Rutland's main industry is agriculture, and there is a limestone quarry near Ketton.
Rutland is referred to asRoteland in theDomesday Book (completed in 1087). The name means "land belonging to Rōta", withRōta being anOld English personal name, that meant 'the pleasant or cheerful one'.[8]
Early history – 1974
Earl of Rutland andDuke of Rutland are titles in thepeerage of England held in the Manners family, derived from the historic county of Rutland. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status ofDuke in 1703 and the titles were merged. The family seat isBelvoir Castle, Leicestershire.
Rutland covered parts of threepoor law unions andrural sanitary districts (RSDs): those of Oakham, Uppingham and Stamford. Theregistration county of Rutland contained the entirety of Oakham and Uppingham RSDs, which included several parishes in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire – the eastern part in Stamford RSD was included in the Lincolnshire registration county. Under the Poor Laws, Oakham Union workhouse was built in 1836–37 at a site to the north-east of the town, with room for 100 paupers. The building later operated as the Catmose Vale Hospital, and now forms part of theOakham School.[10]
Oakham Urban District was created from Oakham Rural District in 1911. It was subsequently abolished in 1974.[11]
Plans for reorganisation
Rutland was included in the "East Midlands General Review Area" of the 1958–67Local Government Commission for England. Draft recommendations would have seen Rutland split, with Ketton Rural District going along withStamford to a new administrative county ofCambridgeshire, and the western part added toLeicestershire. The final proposals were less radical and instead proposed that Rutland become a single rural district within the administrative county of Leicestershire.[12] There was fierce local opposition to the plans, with even the local Conservative Party branch campaigning against it; the campaign included successfulpublicity stunts such as mounting a pretend battleship called HMSRutland on a lorry and shootingfireworks atthe offices ofLeicestershire County Council, where the commissioners were based.[13]
On 1 August 1963, theMinister of Housing and Local Government,Sir Keith Joseph, announced that the proposed merger with Leicestershire would not be implemented citing Rutland's case as "unique", while the opposition alleged that cancelling the merger was a purely political consideration seeking to appeaseTory voters in Rutland who did not want to see their county lose its status.[14] Historian Alexander Hutton suggests that the 1962 by-elections inOrpington (where the Liberals successfully campaigned as aprotest vote against local government reorganisation) andLeicester North East (where Conservative activists from Rutland and Leicestershire refused to campaign, instead endorsing the Liberals) caused the Conservative government to reverse their decision regarding Rutland.[13]
District of Leicestershire (1974–1997)
Rutland became anon-metropolitan district of Leicestershire under theLocal Government Act 1972, which took effect on 1 April 1974. The original proposal was for Rutland to be merged with what is now theMelton borough, as Rutland did not meet the requirement of having a population of at least 40,000. The revised and implemented proposals allowed Rutland to be exempt from this.
Unitary authority (1997–present)
Topiary with date atClipsham Yew Tree Avenue, marking Rutland's re-establishment in 1997
Rutland was apostal county until theRoyal Mail integrated it into the Leicestershire postal county in 1974. After a lengthy campaign,[15] and despite counties no longer being required for postal purposes,[16] 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 theMarket Harborough (LE16) post town.[17]
The particular geology of the area has given its name to theRutland 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 thesauropoddinosaurCetiosaurus oxienensis[18] atGreat Casterton, currently on display atLeicester 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 theLincolnshire limestone. The best exposure of this limestone (and also the Rutland Formation) is at theKetton Cement Works quarry just outsideKetton.[19]
Rutland is dominated byRutland Water, a largeartificial lake formerly known as "Empingham Reservoir", in the middle of the county, which is almost bisected by theHambleton Peninsula. The west part is in theVale 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.
Hand-drawn map of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Rutland byChristopher Saxton from 1576
The highest point of the county is atCold Overton Park (historically part ofFlitteriss Park) at 197 m (646 ft)above sea level close to the west border (OS Grid reference: SK8271708539). The lowest point is close to the east border, in secluded farmland at North Lodge Farm, northeast ofBelmesthorpe, at just 17 m (56 feet) above sea level (OS Grid reference: TF056611122); this corner of the county is on the edge ofThe Fens and is drained by theWest Glen.
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 includeLands' End in Oakham and the Ketton Cement Works. Other employers in Rutland include twoMinistry of Defence bases –Kendrew Barracks (formerlyRAF Cottesmore) andSt George's Barracks (previouslyRAF North Luffenham), two public schools – Oakham andUppingham – and one prison,Stocken. The formerAshwell prison closed at the end of March 2011 after a riot and government review but, having been purchased by Rutland County Council, has now been turned intoOakham Enterprise Park. The county used to supply iron ore toCorby steel works but these quarries closed in the 1960s and early 1970s resulting in the famous walk of "Sundew" (the Exton quarries' large walking dragline) from Exton to Corby, which even featured on the children's TV seriesBlue Peter. Agriculture thrives with much wheat farming on the rich soil. Tourism continues to grow.
TheRuddles Brewery wasLangham's biggest industry until it was closed in 1997. Rutland bitter is one of only three UK beers to have achievedProtected Geographical Indication status; this followed an application by Ruddles. When Greene King, the owners of Ruddles, closed the Langham brewery it was unable to take advantage of the registration.[20] However, in 2010 a Rutland Bitter was launched by Oakham'sGrainstore Brewery.[21]
It is 348th out of 354 on theIndices of Deprivation for England, showing it to be one of the least economically deprived areas in the country.[22]
In March 2007, Rutland became only the fourthFairtrade county.
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.[23]
Rutland County Council is a unitary authority and is responsible for almost all local services in Rutland, with the exception of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Police, which are run byjoint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council.
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2024)
As of the May 2019 elections[update], there are 27 councillors representing 15wards on Rutland County Council. They represent a mixture of one-, two- and three-person wards.
The county comprises 57civil parishes, which range considerably in size and population, fromMartinsthorpe (nil population) to Oakham (10,922 residents in the 2011 census).
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.[29] 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:
In 2006 it was reported that Rutland has the highestfertility rate of any English county – the average woman having 2.81 children, compared with only 1.67 inTyne and Wear.[30]
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.[31]
Rutland was the last county in England without a direct rail service to London (apart from theIsle of Wight and several administrative counties which are unitary authorities).East Midlands Trains started running a single service fromOakham 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 asRutland Weekend Television, a television comedy sketch series hosted byEric Idle. The county is the supposed home of the parody rock bandThe Rutles, who first appeared onRutland Weekend Television.
The events in severalPeter F. Hamilton books (includingMisspent Youth andMindstar Rising) are situated in Rutland, where the author lives.Adam Croft is writing the Rutland crime series, beginning withWhat Lies Beneath (2020).
Rutland was the last county in England without aMcDonald'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 byEdward 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.
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.Bibcode:1996TrIBG..21..534C.doi:10.2307/622595.JSTOR622595.
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