Rutland

Rutland Water

Rutland, unitary authority and historic county in the East Midlands of England. Rutland, wedged between Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Northamptonshire, is the smallest historic county in England. Oakham is the administrative centre.

In ancient times the area was sparsely populated oak woodland, but there was an important Roman settlement at Great Casterton. The present unitary authority was settled by Angles and Saxons in the 5th and 6th centuries ce. Rutland is first mentioned as a separate county in 1159. The county played little subsequent role in English history.

Rutland is a rural upland area. It contains many villages and the historic market towns of Oakham and Uppingham, each with a famous school. Oakham also has a large 14th-century church and a 12th-century castle that is one of the finest examples of late Norman domestic architecture. Rutland has many other fine old churches and houses, whose high quality can be attributed in part to the local sandstone beds that provided excellent building stone.

Rutland is the site of the traditional Cottesmore foxhunt (though wild foxes are no longer hunted). Apart from agriculture, the main economic activity, there is some industry producing electrical products, cement, plastics, and clothing. In the late 1970s the largest reservoir in Great Britain—Rutland Water, covering more than 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares)—was created in the centre of the county to serve the growing urban areas of Northamptonshire and Peterborough (Cambridgeshire). The reservoir is a centre for fishing, birdwatching, and boating and the site of a nature reserve. Area 147 square miles (382 square km). Pop. (2001) 34,563; (2011) 37,369.