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The history of the English county of Rutland, located in the East Midlands. It was reconstituted as a district of Leicestershire in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. This district was given unitary authority status on 1 April 1997.
The north-western part of the county of Rutland was recorded as Rutland, a detached part of Nottinghamshire, in the Domesday Book; the south-eastern part as the wapentake of Wicelsea in Northamptonshire. It was first mentioned as a separate county in 1159, but as late as the 14th century it was referred to as the 'Soke of Rutland'.
In 1584 Uppingham School and Oakham School, two of the earliest public schools of England, were founded in Rutland with a hospital, or almshouse, by Archdeacon Robert Johnson. Both of the original school buildings remain standing.
Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England held in the Manners family, derived from the traditional 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 at Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire.
By the time of the 19th century it had been divided into the hundreds of Alstoe, East, Martinsley, Oakham and Wrandike.
Rutland covered parts of three poor law unions and rural sanitary districts (RSDs): those of Oakham, Uppingham and Stamford. The registration 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. Rutland gained its own county council by virtue of the Local Government Act 1888
In 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 the rural sanitary districts were partitioned along county boundaries to form three rural districts. The part of Oakham and Uppingham RSDs in Rutland formed the Oakham Rural District and Uppingham Rural District, with the two parishes from Oakham RSD in Leicestershire becoming part of the Melton Mowbray Rural District, the 9 parishes of Uppingham RSD in Leicestershire becoming the Hallaton Rural District, and the 6 parishes of Uppingham RSD in Northamptonshire becoming Gretton Rural District. Meanwhile, that part of Stamford RSD in Rutland became the Ketton Rural District. Oakham was split out from Oakham Rural District in 1911 as an urban district. [1]
In the Second World War, the county became home to three Royal Air Force stations, opened at Cottesmore, North Luffenham and Woolfox Lodge. While the latter closed in 1966, the others retained a major defence function in the hands of the British Army when Cottesmore became home of Kendrew Barracks in 2012, [2] and North Luffenham of St George's Barracks in 1998. [3]
The Local Government Boundary Commission (1945–1949) recommended merger with Leicestershire. Rutland was included in the "East Midlands General Review Area" of the 1958–1967 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 be 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. [4] This victory was to prove only temporary, with Rutland being included in the new non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire under the Local Government Act 1972, from 1 April 1974. Under proposals for non-metropolitan districts Rutland would have been paired with what now constitutes the Melton district – the revised and implemented proposals made Rutland a standalone non-metropolitan district (breaking the 40,000 minimum population barrier).
In 1994, the Local Government Commission for England, which was conducting a structural review of English local government, recommended that Rutland become a unitary authority. This was implemented on 1 April 1997, with Rutland regaining a separate Lieutenancy as well as its council regaining control of county functions such as education and social services. The council remained formally a non-metropolitan district council, with wards rather than electoral divisions, but has renamed the district to 'Rutland County Council' to allow it to use that name. This means the full legal name of the council is Rutland County Council District Council.
Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The town is located 25 miles (40.2 km) east of Leicester, 28 miles (45.1 km) south-east of Nottingham and 23 miles (37.0 km) north-west of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,149 in the 2021 census. Oakham is to the west of Rutland Water and in the Vale of Catmose. Its height above sea level ranges from 325 to 400 ft.
Uppingham is a market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, 6 miles (10 km) south of Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019.
North Luffenham is a village in Rutland, in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 704, decreasing to 679 at the 2011 census. It lies to the north of the River Chater, 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Uppingham and 7 miles (11 km) west of Stamford. Located to the north of the village is St George's Barracks, formerly RAF North Luffenham.
Cottesmore is a village and civil parish in the north of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. In terms of population it is the largest village in Rutland, and the third-largest settlement after Oakham and Uppingham. This is due in part to the presence of Kendrew Barracks.
Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about 8 miles (13 km) east of Oakham and 3 miles (5 km) west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 1,926, making it the fourth largest settlement in Rutland, after Oakham, Uppingham and Cottesmore. The village has a primary school.
Market Overton is a village on the northern edge of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish was 494 at the 2001 census, increasing to 584 at the 2011 census.
Great Easton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The parish had a population of 558 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 671 at the 2011 census.
Rutland County Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Rutland in England. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1997 Rutland was a non-metropolitan district in Leicestershire.
Oakham was a rural district in Rutland, England from 1894 to 1974, covering the north of the county.
Uppingham was a rural district in Rutland, England from 1894 to 1974, covering the south of the county.
Ketton was a rural district in Rutland, England from 1894 to 1974, covering the east of the county. The district was named after Ketton.
Barnack was a rural district in the Soke of Peterborough and later Huntingdon and Peterborough from 1894 to 1974.
Easton on the Hill was a rural district in Northamptonshire, England from 1894 to 1935. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Stamford rural sanitary district which was in Northamptonshire proper. It consisted of the three parishes of Collyweston, Duddington and Easton on the Hill.
This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland.
Rutland, sometimes archaically called Rutlandshire, 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.
