| Oakham | |
|---|---|
 Cutts Close Park in Oakham, withAll Saints' Church in the background (September 2012) | |
  Oakham Location withinRutland | |
| Population | 12,149 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SK857088 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the town | List
|
| Post town | OAKHAM |
| Postcode district | LE15 |
| Dialling code | 01572 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°40′14″N0°44′00″W / 52.6705°N 0.7333°W /52.6705; -0.7333 | |
Oakham is amarket town andcivil parish inRutland (of which it is thecounty town) in theEast Midlands ofEngland. The town is located 25 miles (40.2 km) east ofLeicester, 28 miles (45.1 km) south-east ofNottingham and 23 miles (37.0 km) north-west ofPeterborough. It had a population of 12,149 in the 2021 census.[2] Oakham is to the west ofRutland Water and in theVale of Catmose. Its height above sea level ranges from 325 to 400 ft (99 to 122 m).
The name of the town means "homestead or village of Oc(c)a" or "hemmed-in land of Oc(c)a".[3]
There are two tiers of local government covering Oakham, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Oakham Town Council andRutland County Council. The town council is based at Rol House on Long Row.[4] The county council is also based in the town, atCatmose House.
Oakham was anancient parish, and gave its name to theOakham Hundred, one of the five historichundreds of Rutland.[5] When elected parish and district councils were created under theLocal Government Act 1894, Oakham was given a parish council and included in theOakham Rural District. The parish was removed from the rural district in 1911 to become theOakham Urban District, with the parish council being replaced by an urban district council. The urban district was abolished in 1974 and a new parish council established, taking the name Oakham Town Council.[6]
Oakham, along with the rest ofRutland, has been represented atWestminster by theConservative Member of ParliamentAlicia Kearns since 2019.
Women in the Oakham South East ward had the fifth-highest life expectancy at birth, 95.7 years, of any ward in England and Wales in 2016.[7]
The urban area of the town now extends into the neighbouring parish ofBarleythorpe, to the north-west of the town centre.
Tourist attractions in Oakham include All Saints' Church andOakham Castle. Another historic feature is the open-airmarket held in the town's market place every Wednesday and Saturday. Nearby is theButtercross with an octagonal stone-slate roof and the woodenstocks – both Grade Ilisted buildings.[8][9]
The spire of Oakham parish church, built during the 14th century, dominates distant views of the town for several miles in all directions. Restored in 1857–1858 bySir George Gilbert Scott, the church is a Grade I listed building.[10]
Only the great hall of theNorman castle is still standing, surrounded by steep earthworks marking theinner bailey. The hall dates from about 1180–1190. The architectural historianNikolaus Pevsner, in hisLeicestershire and Rutland volume of theBuildings of England series, noted; "It is the earliest hall of any English castle surviving so completely, and it is doubly interesting in that it belonged not to a castle strictly speaking, but rather to a fortified manor house." The building is decorated withRomanesque architectural details, including six carvings of musicians. It is a Grade I listed building.[11] The hall was in use as anassize court until 1970 and is still occasionally used as acoroner's court orCrown Court. It is also licensed for weddings.
The outer bailey of the castle, which is still surrounded by low earthworks, lies to the north of the castle. Known as Cutts Close, it is now a park. The park has some deep hollows which are remnants of the castle's dried-upstew ponds (fishponds).[12] ACastle-class corvette namedHMSOakham Castle was launched in July 1944.[13]
Traditionally, members ofroyalty andpeers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of ahorseshoe. This unique custom has been enforced for over 500 years, but nowadays it only happens on special occasions (such as royal visits), when an outsize ceremonial horseshoe, specially made and decorated, is hung in the great hall of the castle. There are now over 200 of these commemorative shoes on its walls. Not all are dated and some of the earliest (which would doubtless have been ordinary horseshoes given without ceremony by exasperated noblemen) may not have survived. The earliest datable one is an outsize example commemorating a visit by KingEdward IV in about 1470. Recent horseshoes commemorate visits byPrincess Anne (1999),Prince Charles (2003) andPrincess Alexandra (2005).[12] The horseshoes hang with the ends pointing down; while this is generally held to be unlucky, in Rutland this was thought to stop the Devil from sitting in the hollow. The horseshoe motif appears in the county council's arms and onRuddles beer labels.
The museum is located in the old Riding School of theRutland Fencible Cavalry which was built in 1794–1795.[14] The museum houses a collection of objects relating to local rural and agricultural life, social history and archaeology.
A statue ofElizabeth II byHywel Pratley was unveiled on 21 April 2024, which would have been the 98th birthday of the late Queen. The 7ft (2.1m) tall sculpture on a limestone base was commissioned by theLord Lieutenant of Rutland and funded through donations from businesses and members of the public, at the cost of £125,000.[15]
Oakham railway station is a stop on theBirmingham–Peterborough line. It is served by twotrain operating companies:
Most bus services in Oakham are operated by Centrebus and Blands. Routes link the town withCorby,Melton Mowbray andStamford.[18]
TheOakham Canal connected the town to theMelton Mowbray Navigation, theRiver Soar and the national waterways system between 1802 and 1847.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from theWaltham TV transmitter.[19]
Rutland's local radio stations areBBC Radio Leicester on 104.9 FM,Smooth East Midlands on 106.6 FM,Hits Radio East Midlands on 106.0 FM,Greatest Hits Radio Midlands (which used to beRutland Radio) on 107.2 FM,Sabras Radio on 91.0 FM and Rutland and Stamford Sound, a community based radio station which broadcast onDAB and online to the county andStamford inLincolnshire.[20]
TheRutland Mercury andRutland Times are the local newspapers that serve the area.[21][22]
Oakham School is an Englishpublic school, founded together withUppingham School in 1584. The original school building survives, north-east of the church. It has across its south front the inscriptionSchola Latina – Graeca – Hebraica A° 1584 and above its door a stone with an inscription inLatin,Greek andHebrew.
Oakham School is the owner of the town's formerworkhouse. Built in 1836–1837 by the OakhamPoor Law Union, it held 167 inmates until its conversion into Catmose Vale Hospital. It now contains two of the school houses for girls.
Catmose College, founded in 1920, is a state-fundedsecondary school.Harington School is asixth form centre next to it.Rutland County College, previously Rutland Sixth Form College, moved from the outskirts of the town toGreat Casterton.
Oakham United Football Club won thePeterborough and District Football League in 2015 and gained promotion to theUnited Counties League First Division.[23] It currently plays in thePeterborough & District League Premier Division.
OakhamRugby Football Club plays at the Rutland Showground.
Oakham Cricket Club plays at the Lime Kilns off Cricket Lawns.
Oakham istwinned with:
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