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Oakham

Coordinates:52°40′14″N0°44′00″W/ 52.6705°N 0.7333°W/52.6705; -0.7333
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For other uses, seeOakham (disambiguation).

Oakham
Cutts Close Park in Oakham, withAll Saints' Churchin the background (September 2012)
Oakham is located in Rutland
Oakham
Oakham
Location withinRutland
Population12,149 (2021 Census)
OS grid referenceSK857088
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Areas of the town
List
Post townOAKHAM
Postcode districtLE15
Dialling code01572
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Rutland
52°40′14″N0°44′00″W/ 52.6705°N 0.7333°W/52.6705; -0.7333

Oakhamis amarket townandcivil parishinRutland(of which it is thecounty town) in theEast MidlandsofEngland.The town is located 25 miles (40.2 km) east ofLeicester,28 miles (45.1 km) south-east ofNottinghamand 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 Waterand in theVale of Catmose.Its height above sea level ranges from 325 to 400 ft (99 to 122 m).

Toponymy

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The name of the town means "homestead or village of Oc(c)a" or "hemmed-in land of Oc(c)a".[3]

Governance

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There are two tiers of local government covering Oakham, atparish(town) andunitary authoritylevel: 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 historichundredsof 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 atWestminsterby theConservativeMember of ParliamentAlicia Kearnssince 2019.

Demography

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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.

Landmarks

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Tourist attractions in Oakham include All Saints' Church andOakham Castle.Another historic feature is the open-airmarketheld in the town's market place every Wednesday and Saturday. Nearby is theButtercrosswith an octagonal stone-slate roof and the woodenstocks– both Grade Ilisted buildings.[8][9]

All Saints' Church

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Main article:All Saints' Church, Oakham
The great hall ofOakham Castle,with the spire ofAll Saints' Churchbeyond

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]

Oakham Castle

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Main article:Oakham Castle

Only the great hall of theNormancastle is still standing, surrounded by steep earthworks marking theinner bailey.The hall dates from about 1180–1190. The architectural historianNikolaus Pevsner,in hisLeicestershire and Rutlandvolume of theBuildings of Englandseries, 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 withRomanesquearchitectural details, including six carvings of musicians. It is a Grade I listed building.[11]The hall was in use as anassize courtuntil 1970 and is still occasionally used as acoroner's courtorCrown 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 corvettenamedHMSOakham Castlewas launched in July 1944.[13]

Oakham's horseshoes

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Ceremonial horseshoes in Oakham Castle

Traditionally, members ofroyaltyandpeers of the realmwho 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 IVin 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 beerlabels.

Rutland County Museum

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Main article:Rutland County Museum

The museum is located in the old Riding School of theRutland Fencible Cavalrywhich was built in 1794–1795.[14]The museum houses a collection of objects relating to local rural and agricultural life, social history and archaeology.

Statue of Queen Elizabeth II

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Main article:Statue of Elizabeth II, Oakham

A statue ofElizabeth IIby Hywel 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 Rutlandand funded through donations from businesses and members of the public, at the cost of £125,000.[15]

Transport

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Oakham station frontage

Oakham railway stationis 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 MowbrayandStamford.[18]

TheOakham Canalconnected the town to theMelton Mowbray Navigation,theRiver Soarand the national waterways system between 1802 and 1847.

Media

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Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East MidlandsandITV Central.Television signals are received from theWalthamTV transmitter.[19]

Rutland's local radio stations areBBC Radio Leicesteron 104.9 FM,Smooth East Midlandson 106.6 FM,Hits Radio East Midlandson 106.0 FM,Greatest Hits Radio Midlands(which used to beRutland Radio) on 107.2 FM,Sabras Radioon 91.0 FM and Rutland and Stamford Sound, a community based radio station which broadcast onDABand online to the county andStamfordinLincolnshire.[20]

TheRutland MercuryandRutland Timesare the local newspapers that serve the area.[21][22]

Education

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Oakham Market Cross,with Oakham School beyond

Oakham Schoolis an Englishpublic school,founded together withUppingham Schoolin 1584. The original school building survives, north-east of the church. It has across its south front the inscriptionSchola Latina – Graeca – Hebraica A°1584and above its door a stone with an inscription inLatin,GreekandHebrew.

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 Schoolis asixth formcentre next to it.Rutland County College,previously Rutland Sixth Form College, moved from the outskirts of the town toGreat Casterton.

Sports and recreation

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Oakham UnitedFootball Club won thePeterborough and District Football Leaguein 2015 and gained promotion to theUnited Counties LeagueFirst Division.[23]It currently plays in thePeterborough & District LeaguePremier Division.

OakhamRugby Football Clubplays at the Rutland Showground.

Oakham Cricket Club plays at the Lime Kilns off Cricket Lawns.

Notable people

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Twin towns

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Oakham istwinnedwith:

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  • All Saints' Church from footpath between Church Street and Market Place
    All Saints' Church from footpath between Church Street and Market Place
  • All Saints' Church seen from Northgate
    All Saints' Church seen from Northgate
  • The stocks, under the Buttercross
    The stocks, under the Buttercross
  • Inscription above the Old School door
    Inscription above the Old School door
  • Cutts Close park - looking southwest towards the original Oakham School building, with the bandstand to the right
    Cutts Close park - looking southwest towards the original Oakham School building, with the bandstand to the right
  • Plaque on Jeffery Hudson's Cottage
    Plaque on Jeffery Hudson's Cottage
  • Dean's Street, a quiet back street
    Dean's Street, a quiet back street
  • Victoria Hall, built 1839, serves as a community venue and public hall
    Victoria Hall, built 1839, serves as a community venue and public hall

References

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  1. ^"Oakham Town Council Website".Oakham Town Council.Retrieved20 February2022.
  2. ^"City Population. Retrieved 12 March 2023".Archivedfrom the original on 8 January 2021.Retrieved12 March2023.
  3. ^University of Nottingham - Institute of Name Studies School of English."Key to English Place-names".Kepn.nottingham.ac.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 13 May 2021.Retrieved12 January2022.
  4. ^"Oakham Town Council".Retrieved19 August2024.
  5. ^"Oakham Hundred / Soke".A Vision of Britain through Time.GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.Retrieved18 August2024.
  6. ^"The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,SI 1973/1110,retrieved19 August2024
  7. ^Bennett, James; et al. (22 November 2018)."Contributions of diseases and injuries to widening life expectancy inequalities in England from 2001 to 2016: a population-based analysis of vital registration data".Lancet public health.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2019.Retrieved23 November2018.
  8. ^Historic England."Market Cross (1073278)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved1 October2006.
  9. ^Historic England."Stocks (1073279)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved15 May2021.
  10. ^Historic England."CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Oakham (1073305)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved20 June2017.
  11. ^Historic England."Oakham" Castle "(1073277)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved1 October2006.
  12. ^ab"Oakham Castle".Rutland On Line.Archived fromthe originalon 1 March 2007.Retrieved20 February2007.
  13. ^"Castle Class Corvettes".Battleships-Cruisers.Archivedfrom the original on 14 October 2006.Retrieved20 February2007.
  14. ^"Rutland County Museum".Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2021.Retrieved12 January2022.
  15. ^Ball, Jeremy; Patel, Asha (21 April 2024)."Rutland: Hundreds attend Queen Elizabeth II statue unveiling".BBC News.Retrieved23 April2024.
  16. ^"Trains Timetables".CrossCountry.2 June 2024.Retrieved27 August2024.
  17. ^"Timetables".East Midlands Railway.2 June 2024.Retrieved27 August2024.
  18. ^"Stops in Oakham".Bustimes.org.Retrieved27 August2024.
  19. ^"Full Freeview on the Waltham (Leicestershire, England) transmitter".UK Free TV.1 May 2004.Retrieved25 September2023.
  20. ^"Rutland and Stamford".Retrieved26 September2023.
  21. ^"Rutland Times".Retrieved26 September2023.
  22. ^"Rutland & Stamford Mercury".British Papers.24 May 2014.Retrieved26 September2023.
  23. ^Ambitious Oakham United looking to be top local side in the UCL Division One:Ambitious Oakham United looking to be top local side in the UCL Division OneArchived18 February 2020 at theWayback Machine,accessdate 18 February 2020.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toOakham.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide forOakham.
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