Oakham is the
county town of
Rutland in the
East Midlands of England east of
Leicester, south-east of
Nottingham, and west of
Peterborough. Oakham has a population of 10,922.
Oakham lies to the west of
Rutland Water, one of the largest man-made lakes in Europe. It is in the
Vale of Catmose and is built on an incline, varying from 325 feet (99m) to 400 feet (122m) above sea level. It is twinned with
Barmstedt, Germany, and
Dodgeville,
Wisconsin, US.
Governance
Local governance for Oakham is provided for by the single-tier
unitary Rutland County Council, of which Oakham is the headquarters.
Lying within the
historic county boundaries of Rutland from a very early time, from 1974 until 1997, Oakham lay within the
non-metropolitan county of
Leicestershire.
Oakham, along with
Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, and the rest of Rutland, has since 1992 been represented at
Westminster by the
Conservative Member of Parliament
Alan Duncan.
Landmarks
!-- This heading linked from redirects for stocks and cross --> Tourist attractions in Oakham include
All Saints' Church and
Oakham Castle. Another popular and historic feature is the open-air
market held in the town's market square every Wednesday and Saturday (near the ancient octagonal
Buttercross with its pyramidal roof and wooden
stocks, a Grade I
listed building).
All Saints' Church
The impressive spire of Oakham parish church, built during the 14th century, dominates distant views of the town for several miles in all directions. Restored in 1857-58 by
Sir George Gilbert Scott, the church is a Grade I listed building.
Oakham Castle
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Only the great hall of the
Norman castle is still standing, and is surrounded by steep earthworks marking the
inner bailey. The hall dates from c. 1180—90 and according to
Nikolaus Pevsner (in his
The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland):
- "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 attractively ornamented with
Romanesque architectural details, including six carvings of musicians. It is a Grade I listed building.
The hall was in use as an
assize court until 1970 and is still occasionally used as a
coroner's court or
Crown Court. It is also licensed for weddings.
The outer bailey of the castle, still surrounded by low earthworks, lies to the north of the castle. Known as Cutts Close, it is now a park with a bandstand, skateboard area, flowerbeds and children's play area. Some deep hollows in the park are the remnants of the castle's dried-up stew ponds (fishponds).
A
Castle class corvette named HMS
Oakham Castle was launched in July 1944.
Oakham's horseshoes
Traditionally, members of
royalty and
peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a
horseshoe. 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 King
Edward IV in about 1470. The horseshoes hang upside-down: while this is generally held to be unlucky, in Rutland this was thought to stop the Devil from sitting in the hollow. The upside-down horseshoe motif appears in the county council's arms and on the local
Ruddle's beer labels. Recent horseshoes commemorate visits by
Princess Anne (1999),
Prince Charles (2003) and
Princess Alexandra (2005).
Rutland County Museum
The museum is located in the old Riding School of the
Rutland Fencible Cavalry which was built in 1794-95. The museum houses a collection of objects relating to local rural and agricultural life, social history and archaeology.
Transport
The Birmingham to Stansted Airport railway line runs through the town, providing links to
Birmingham, Leicester, Peterborough,
Cambridge and
Stansted Airport.
Oakham railway station is positioned approximately halfway between
Peterborough railway station and
Leicester railway station, at both of which passengers can board a train to
London - either from Leicester to
London St Pancras or from Peterborough to
London King's Cross. There are also two direct services to London St Pancras (one early morning and one evening), and one evening return service from London St Pancras, each weekday.
There are good road links to:
- Leicester (25 miles),
- Nottingham (29 miles),
- Melton Mowbray (10 miles),
- Uppingham (6 miles),
- Corby (13 miles),
- Stamford (11 miles).
The main route for travellers to Leicester by road is first south to
Uppingham and then westward along the
A47.
Oakham is on the
A606 between Melton Mowbray and
Stamford. On 10 January 2007, the A606 bypass opened diverting traffic from the town centre.
The
Oakham Canal connected the town to the
Melton Mowbray Navigation, the
River Soar and the national waterways system between 1802 and 1847.
Education
The town is home to
Oakham School, one of the major English
public schools, which was founded, together with
Uppingham School, in 1584. The original school building survives, northeast of the church; across its south front is the inscription
Schola Latina – Graeca – Hebraica A° 1584 and above its door is a stone with an inscription in
Latin,
Greek and
Hebrew.
Oakham School is also the current owner of Oakham's former
workhouse. Built in 1836-37 by Oakham
Poor Law Union, it served as a workhouse for 167 inmates, until it became Catmose Vale Hospital. It now accommodates two school houses for girls.
The
Catmose College, founded in 1920, is a specialist visual arts college.
Rutland College, formerly Rutland Sixth Form College, lies on the outskirts of the town in
Barleythorpe.
Sports and recreation
Oakham United Football Club won the Peterborough & District Football League in 2015, winning promotion to the
United Counties League First Division, which lies at the 10th tier of the
English football league system.
Oakham
Rugby Football Club play at the Rutland Showground.
Oakham Cricket Club plays at the Lime Kilns off Cricket Lawns.
Notable people
Street map
Gallery
References
External links