Empingham St Peter
With a population of over 800 this village lies to the east of Rutland Water along the A606. On 12th March 1470 during the War of the Roses the Battle of Losecoat field took place near the village where the Yorkists under King Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians under Robert Welles, 8th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. It is reported that Lord Willoughby who was being held hostage by the King was beheaded before the battle in front of his son’s own army. Not a great start and Edwards men routed the Lancastrians from the field. Gilbert de...
read moreCaldecott St John the Evangalist
Caldecott is the most southerly village in Rutland and is located about 4 miles south of Uppingham and today has a population of approx 260 people (2001 census). The village was mentioned in the in the Domesday as attached to Liddington (Lyddington) and held by the Bishop of Lincoln. In 1246 the Hospitallers were granted a free warren in their demesne lands in Caldecott. There was also a Snelson village that lay to the north of the parish but this has now gone and the name was last mentioned in 1650 in reference to a Snelson’s field....
read moreTilton on the Hill St Peter
With a population of around 450 Tilton is approximately 10 miles east of Leicester in some fine Leicestershire countryside. The village is sited on some of the highest ground in Leicestershire at 719 feet above sea level. In the Domesday Book survey of 1086 there was a priest so it is highly likely a previous structure church stood on the site. There is also evidence that the village is sited on a Bronze Age crossroads. The earliest remaining fabric dates to the Norman period of 1180, this is at the base of the tower and also the west end of...
read moreGreat Casterton St Peter & St Paul
This village with a population of 434 (2001 census) is only two and a half miles from Stamford and hence very near to the county border of Lincolnshire. The remains of a Roman fort and town have been found northwest of the church with earthworks still remaining. The manor passed to the House of Lancaster and the remaining manors were passed through many families and you can read more on this by following the link to the excellent British History site. The church at Great Casterton has some very interesting features and is an attractive...
read moreStoke Dry St Andrew
Stoke Dry is small village in Rutland of around 14 dwellings just two miles south of Uppingham. It overlooks Eyebrook reservoir and has views into Leicestershire & Northamptonshire across the Welland valley. It is sited on a slope and in the Domesday Book was part of the manor of Lyddington and hence the Bishop of Lincoln. There is of course far more information on the manor and early years at the British History site and I have added a link to the page. The church of St Andrew is an usual looking church which consists of a nave, chancel,...
read moreLyndon St Martin
Just a few miles south of Rutland Water is the small village of Lyndon which in 2001 had a recorded of around eighty people. It is rather a ‘blink’ and you’ll miss it village with most of the properties away from the main road but it is a pretty little place with a nicely situated church. The parish is not mentioned in the Domesday Book but was probably one of the outlying ‘berewicks’ of Hambleton which now lies to the north across Rutland Water. The undertenants from 1086 were the local family of ‘Lyndon’....
read moreUppingham St Peter & St Paul
Uppingham is an attractive little market town in Rutland with a surprisingly small population of only 4,000. This is swelled by a large number of students (nearly 800) during school term at the large private school which the town is famous for. The town is not mentioned in the Domesday Book and is thought to be one of the seven outlying manors (or berewick) of Ridlington which is a village nearby, now much smaller than Uppingham. The town has a small square surrounded by Inns, shops and cafes and from the south side of the square you can gain...
read moreGlaston St Andrew
Approximately two miles east of Uppingham is the village of Glaston. It is bisected by the busy A47 and the population is a round 220. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years in 2000 a excavation uncovered ancient remains from the last ice age. There is a link to the web site where further information can be read on the excavation. Back to our near history and I do include the Norman Conquest as being near. In the Domesday book Glaston was divided between the king and the Countess Judith it changed hands many times and more can be...
read moreSouth Luffenham St Mary the Virgin
Seperated from North Luffenham by the River Chater the pleasant village of South Luffenham has a population of less than 500 and is set a few miles south of Rutland Water. The village is split into two by a tributary of the River Chater with the church on the south side by a small green. In 1086 the village was part of the manor of Barrowden and it passed to the Earls of Warwick. The Greenham family of Ketton owned a manor in South Luffenham which they probably came into in 1254, they passed this to Sir John Digby in 1496. Sir John had been...
read moreBraunston All Saints
Three miles south-west from Oakham is the pretty Rutland village of Braunston with around 400 inhabitants. Rising to over 600ft to the north from the river Gwash the parish adjoins Leicestershire on its western boundary. Mentioned in the Domesday Book the village was probably a berewick (satellite village) of the manor of Hambleton. For a long while the chapel at Braunston was dependent on the ‘mother’ church at Hambleton but in 1884 it was separated from Hambleton and made a separate vicarage. In 1167 a Walchelin de Ferrers was...
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