A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England , Wales , and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties .
61-482: Rutland ( / ˈ r ʌ t l ə n d / ) 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 and county town . Rutland has an area of 382 km (147 sq mi) and a population of 41,049, the second-smallest ceremonial county population after
122-722: A lengthy campaign, and despite counties no longer being required for postal purposes, 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. The particular geology of the area has given its name to the Rutland Formation , which
183-553: A lieutenant with the wider county from which they had been created. London had instead a commission of lieutenancy , headed by the Lord Mayor . The long-standing practice of appointing lieutenants jointly to the wider county and any counties corporate it contained was formalised by the Militia Act 1882. Apart from the inclusion of the counties corporate, the counties for the purposes of lieutenancy generally corresponded to
244-571: A more rounded shape and had a small town or village as the administrative centre. A few rural districts consisted of only one parish (for example, Tintwistle Rural District , Alston with Garrigill Rural District , South Mimms Rural District , King's Lynn Rural District , Disley Rural District and Crowland Rural District ). In such districts there was no separate parish council, and the rural district council exercised its functions. All rural districts in England and Wales were abolished in 1974 (by
305-412: A new non-metropolitan county is created the 1997 Act is amended to redefine the existing areas of the lieutenancies in terms of the new areas. No such amendment was made in 1997 when Rutland was made a unitary authority or in 1998 when Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established; those three therefore have been given their own lieutenants again since the passing of the 1997 Act. The actual areas of
366-547: A speed of 125.55 mph (202.05 km/h). 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. Through the Rutland Electric Car Project, Rutland
427-532: A week for 30 minutes. In 2012, the well-being report by the Office for National Statistics found Rutland to be the "happiest county" in the mainland UK. A small part of the East Coast Main Line passes through Rutland's north-east corner, near Essendine . It was on this stretch that a train pulled by the locomotive Mallard set the world speed record for steam locomotives on 3 July 1938, with
488-540: Is a limestone quarry near Ketton. Rutland is referred to as Roteland in the Domesday Book (completed in 1087). The name means "land belonging to Rōta", with Rōta being an Old English personal name, that meant 'the pleasant or cheerful one'. 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
549-615: Is generally treated as part of Leicestershire . 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 by joint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council. Following the 2023 council elections , the Liberal Democrats emerged as
610-467: 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 Cold Overton Park (historically part of Flitteriss Park ) at 197 m (646 ft) above sea level close to
671-663: Is the monarch 's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have the same boundaries and serve a similar purpose, being the areas to which high sheriffs are appointed. High sheriffs are the monarch's judicial representative in an area. The ceremonial counties are defined in the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , and the shrieval counties in the Sheriffs Act 1887 . Both are defined as groups of local government counties. The historic counties of England were originally used as areas for administering justice and organising
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#1732769319070732-454: The City of London . The county is rural, and the only towns are Oakham (12,149) and Uppingham (4,745), both in the west of the county; the largest settlement in the east is the village of Ketton (1,926). For local government Rutland is a unitary authority area. The county is the smallest of the historic counties of England . The geography of Rutland is characterised by low, rolling hills,
793-636: The Courts Act 1971 which abolished the quarter sessions and assizes . Sheriffs continued to be appointed for each county despite the loss of the judicial functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate appointing their own sheriffs. The counties corporate were all included in a wider county for lieutenancy purposes, except the City of London which had its own lieutenants. The geographical counties were relatively stable between 1889 and 1965. There were occasional boundary changes, notably following
854-501: The Ketton Rural District . Oakham Urban District was created from Oakham Rural District in 1911. It was subsequently abolished in 1974. 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
915-510: The Lieutenancies Act 1997 . When Herefordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire were re-established as local government counties in 1997 and 1998 no amendment was made to the 1997 Act regarding them, allowing them to also serve as their own lieutenancy areas. The lieutenancy counties have not changed in area since 1998, although the definitions of which local government counties are included in each lieutenancy have been amended to reflect new unitary authorities being created since 1997. In legislation
976-813: The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 . They were subdivided into district electoral divisions . In 1921, Ireland was partitioned with Northern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom, and the rest of the country leaving as the Irish Free State in 1922. In the Irish Free State, rural districts outside of County Dublin were abolished in 1925 under the Local Government Act 1925 amid widespread accusations of corruption . Their functions were transferred to
1037-620: The Local Government Act 1894 which said that parishes and districts were no longer allowed to straddle county boundaries. After that most boundary changes were primarily to accommodate urban areas which were growing across county boundaries, such as when Caversham was transferred from Oxfordshire to Berkshire as a result of being absorbed into the County Borough of Reading in 1911. The lieutenancies and judicial / shrieval counties were defined as groups of administrative counties and county boroughs, and so were automatically adjusted if
1098-574: The Local Government Act 1972 ) and were typically merged with nearby urban districts or boroughs to form " districts ", which included both urban and rural areas. See Rural districts formed in England and Wales 1894–1974 for the districts created in 1894; List of rural and urban districts in England , and List of rural and urban districts in Wales for a list of rural districts at abolition in 1974. Rural districts were created in Ireland in 1899 under
1159-631: The Melton 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. 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, when Rutland County Council became responsible for almost all local services in Rutland, with
1220-771: 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 nine parishes of Uppingham RSD in Leicestershire becoming the Hallaton Rural District , and the six parishes of Uppingham RSD in Northamptonshire becoming Gretton Rural District . Meanwhile, that part of Stamford RSD in Rutland became
1281-561: The Rutland and Melton constituency along with Melton borough and part of Harborough district from Leicestershire. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , Rutland and Stamford was re-established for the 2024 general election . As of the 2024 general election, Alicia Kearns of the Conservative Party is the member of parliament for Rutland and Stamford, having received 43.7% of
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#17327693190701342-445: The militia , overseen by a sheriff . From Tudor times onwards a lord-lieutenant was appointed to oversee the militia, taking some of the sheriff's functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate , which gave them the right to appoint their own sheriffs and hold their own courts. Whilst in theory the counties corporate could have had separate lieutenants appointed for them, in practice all of them except London shared
1403-475: The 2021 Census was: In 2006 it was reported that Rutland has the highest fertility rate of any English county – the average woman having 2.81 children, compared with only 1.67 in Tyne and Wear . 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
1464-434: 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. In the 2021 Census, there was an estimated 21,072 men and 19,977 women living in Rutland. The county had an ethnicity makeup at the 2021 Census of: The county's religious makeup at
1525-662: The City of London, which has two sheriffs ). The Lieutenancies Act 1997 defines counties for the purposes of lieutenancies in terms of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties (created by the Local Government Act 1972 , as amended) as well as Greater London and the Isles of Scilly (which lie outside the 1972 Act's system). Although the term is not used in the act, these counties are sometimes known as "ceremonial counties". The counties are defined in Schedule 1, paragraphs 2–5 as amended (in 2009, 2019 and 2023). Generally, each time
1586-538: The Langham brewery it was unable to take advantage of the registration. However, in 2010 a Rutland Bitter was launched by Oakham's Grainstore Brewery . It is 348th out of 354 on the Indices of Deprivation for England, showing it to be one of the least economically deprived areas in the country. In March 2007, Rutland became only the fourth Fairtrade county. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of
1647-748: 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 . 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
1708-517: 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. However, in January 2020 a planning application for a McDonald's restaurant on the outskirts of Oakham was approved by the County Council and the restaurant opened on 4 November 2020. Rutland's traditions include: Harington School provides post-16 education in
1769-456: The boundaries of those administrative areas changed. There were two exceptions to this rule (one only briefly). The county borough of Great Yarmouth straddled Norfolk and Suffolk for judicial and lieutenancy purposes until 1891 when it was placed entirely in Norfolk for those purposes. The county borough of Stockport straddled Cheshire and Lancashire for judicial and lieutenancy purposes - it
1830-433: The ceremonial counties have not changed since 1998. These are the 48 counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies in England, as currently defined: After the creation of county councils in 1889, there were counties for judicial and shrieval purposes, counties for lieutenancy purposes, and administrative counties and county boroughs for the purposes of local government. The 1888 Act used the term 'entire county' to refer to
1891-410: The children's TV series Blue Peter . Agriculture thrives with much wheat farming on the rich soil. Tourism continues to grow. The Ruddles Brewery was Langham's biggest industry until it was closed in 1997. Rutland bitter is one of only three UK beers to have achieved Protected Geographical Indication status; this followed an application by Ruddles. When Greene King, the owners of Ruddles, closed
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1952-550: The county councils The remaining rural districts in County Dublin were similarly abolished in 1930 by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 . The former boundaries of the rural districts in the Republic of Ireland continue to be used for statistical purposes and defining constituencies. In Northern Ireland, rural districts continued to exist until 1973 when they were abolished (along with all other local government of
2013-482: The county councils. In counties where the quarter sessions had been held separately for different parts of the county, such as the Parts of Lincolnshire , each part was given its own county council. The area administered by a county council was called an administrative county . As such, some of the judicial or lieutenancy counties comprised several administrative counties and county boroughs. The Ordnance Survey adopted
2074-433: The county. Rutland County College closed in 2017. Ceremonial county Ceremonial counties , formally known as counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies , are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. They are one of the two main legal definitions of the counties of England in modern usage, the other being the counties for the purposes of local government legislation. A lord-lieutenant
2135-566: The creation of the Lord Lieutenant of Greater London and of the Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdon and Peterborough . Rural district In England and Wales rural districts were created in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) along with urban districts . They replaced the earlier system of sanitary districts (themselves based on poor law unions , but not replacing them). Each rural district had an elected rural district council (RDC), which inherited
2196-840: 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 the Oakham School . 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
2257-458: The end of March 2011 after a riot and government review but, having been purchased by Rutland County Council, has now been turned into Oakham Enterprise Park . The county used to supply iron ore to Corby 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
2318-553: The exception of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Police , which are run by joint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council . Rutland regained a separate lieutenancy and shrievalty , and thus also regained status as a ceremonial county . Rutland was a postal county until the Royal Mail integrated it into the Leicestershire postal county in 1974. After
2379-533: The functions of the earlier sanitary districts, but also had wider authority over matters such as local planning, council housing , and playgrounds and cemeteries. Matters such as education and major roads were the responsibility of county councils . Until 1930 the rural district councillors were also poor law guardians for the unions of which they formed part. Each parish was represented by one or more councillors. Originally there were 787 rural districts in England and Wales, as they were based directly upon
2440-432: The group of administrative counties and county boroughs created within each judicial county. The Ordnance Survey used the term 'geographical county' to refer to this wider definition of the county. Yorkshire had three lieutenancies, one for each riding, but was a single judicial county with one sheriff, and was counted as one geographical county by Ordnance Survey. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972 under
2501-591: The highest of which is a 197 m (646 ft) point in Cold Overton Park . Rutland Water was created in the centre of the county in the 1970s; the reservoir is a nature reserve that serves as an overwintering site for wildfowl and a breeding site for ospreys . The older buildings in the county are built from local limestone or ironstone , with many having roofs of Collyweston stone slate or thatch . Rutland has little evidence of Prehistoric settlement. A Roman mosaic and probable farming complex
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2562-828: 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 Lands' End in Oakham and the Ketton Cement Works. Other employers in Rutland include two Ministry of Defence bases – Kendrew Barracks (formerly RAF Cottesmore ) and St George's Barracks (previously RAF North Luffenham ), two public schools – Oakham and Uppingham – and one prison, Stocken . The former Ashwell prison closed at
2623-435: The judicial counties. The exception was Yorkshire, which was one judicial county, having a single Sheriff of Yorkshire , but from 1660 onwards each of Yorkshire's three ridings had its own lieutenant. In 1889 elected county councils were established under the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions . Certain towns and cities were made county boroughs , independent from
2684-496: The largest group and subsequently formed a cabinet led by Gale Waller. As from the May 2019 elections, there are 27 councillors representing 15 wards on Rutland County Council. They represent a mixture of one, two and three-person wards. Rutland formed a Parliamentary constituency on its own until 1918, when it became part of the Rutland and Stamford constituency, along with Stamford in Lincolnshire. Since 1983 it has formed part of
2745-482: The lieutenancy areas are described as 'counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'; the informal term 'ceremonial county' has come into usage for such areas, appearing in parliamentary debates as early as 1996. The shrieval counties are defined by the Sheriffs Act 1887 as amended, in a similar way to the lieutenancies defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. Each has a high sheriff appointed (except
2806-403: The lieutenants were appointed to the new versions of the counties. The counties of Avon , Cleveland and Humberside , each of which had only been created in 1974, were all abolished in 1996. They were divided into unitary authorities ; legally these are also non-metropolitan counties. As part of these reforms, it was decided to define counties for the purposes of lieutenancy differently from
2867-533: The local government counties in some cases, effectively reverting to the pre-1974 arrangements for lieutenancies. Whereas the lieutenancies had been defined slightly differently from the shrieval counties prior to 1974, it was decided in 1996 that the high sheriffs and lieutenants should be appointed to the same areas. Regulations amending the Sheriffs Act 1887 and specifying the areas for the appointment of lieutenants were accordingly brought in with effect from 1 April 1996. The regulations were then consolidated into
2928-428: The main functions of the counties were the administrative functions of local government. Despite the loss of their functions, sheriffs continued to be appointed to the former judicial counties up until 1974. In 1974, administrative counties and county boroughs were abolished, and a new system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties was introduced instead. Sheriffs were renamed 'high sheriffs' and both they and
2989-451: The non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire and Rutland at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. ^ 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
3050-448: The number of districts had been reduced to 473. The typical shape of a rural district was a doughnut-shaped ring around a town (which would be either an urban district or a municipal borough ). A good example of this is Melton and Belvoir Rural District , which surrounded the town of Melton Mowbray . Some rural districts were fragmented, consisting of a number of detached parts , such as Wigan Rural District . Some rural districts had
3111-485: The sanitary districts and poor law unions which had preceded them. Gradual urbanisation over the following decades led to some rural districts being redefined as urban districts or merging with existing urban districts or boroughs. Other rural districts proved to be too small or poor to be viable, and under the Local Government Act 1929 , 236 rural districts were abolished and merged or amalgamated into larger units. Further mergers took place over following decades and by 1965
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#17327693190703172-580: The term 'geographical county' to describe the widest definition of the county. In most cases this was the lieutenancy county; the exceptions were Yorkshire, where the judicial county was larger on account of it being split into its three ridings for lieutenancy purposes, and the County of London where the administrative county was larger on account of the City of London and the rest of the county being separate for both judicial and lieutenancy purposes. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972, after which
3233-423: The time of the 19th century it had been divided into the hundreds of Alstoe , East Rutland, 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 –
3294-399: The vote. 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). 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
3355-455: The west border ( OS Grid reference: SK8271708539). The lowest point is close to the east border, in secluded farmland at North Lodge Farm, northeast of Belmesthorpe , at just 17 m (56 feet) above sea level (OS Grid reference: TF056611122); this corner of the county is on the edge of The Fens and is drained by the West Glen . There are 17,000 people of working age in Rutland, of which
3416-405: 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. Rutland became a non-metropolitan district of Leicestershire under the Local Government Act 1972 , which took effect on 1 April 1974. The original proposal was for Rutland to be merged with what is now
3477-520: Was discovered west of Ketton. The area now known as Rutland was settled by the Angles from the 5th century and later formed part of the kingdom of Mercia . Rutland was first mentioned as a distinct county in 1179. During the High Middle Ages much of it was forested and used as hunting grounds. The wool trade was important during the 16th century. Rutland's main industry is agriculture. There
3538-413: 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 . By
3599-421: 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 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
3660-575: Was placed entirely in Lancashire for judicial purposes in 1956 but continued to straddle the two counties for lieutenancy purposes until 1974. More significant changes to the geographical counties were made in 1965 with the creation of Greater London and of Huntingdon and Peterborough , which resulted in the abolition of the offices of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex , Lord Lieutenant of the County of London , and Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire and
3721-506: Was the first county to offer a county-wide public electric-vehicle charging network. 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
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