Oakham is the
county town of
Rutland,
England. It lies east from
Leicester, and has a total resident population of 9,975.
Oakham, which has
civil parish status, lies to the west of
Rutland Water, one of the largest man-made
lakes in
Europe. It is in the
Vale of Catmose and the town itself is built on an incline, and varies from 99m above sea level (Ladywell area) to 122m above sea level (Brooke School area).
Governance
Local governance for Oakham is provided for by the single-tier
unitary Rutland County Council District 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
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 spire of Oakham parish church dominates distant views of the town for several miles in all directions. The impressive tower and spire, built during the 14th century, in the "
Decorated Gothic" style, are slightly earlier in date than most of the rest of the exterior of the building, which (apart from some
Victorian restoration) is in the "
Perpendicular Gothic" style. Oddly, the south doorway and its porch seem to be the oldest parts of the church, the doorway probably dating from the early 13th century, with the porch having been added later that century.
In the light, spacious interior there's more evidence of the mature Decorated style of the 14th century. The tall, slender columns of the
nave have intricately carved
capitals showing animals, birds, figures, foliage and scenes from the
Bible including
Adam and Eve, the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the
Annunciation and the
Coronation of the
Virgin Mary. There is also a fine
Green Man.
It is a grade I listed building.
Oakham Castle
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's 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's 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 (see to the right), and on the local
Ruddles beer labels. Recent horsehoes commemorate visits by HRH
The Princess Royal (1999), HRH
The Prince of Wales (2003) and HRH
Princess Alexandra (2005).
Transport
There are good road links to:
The
Birmingham to Peterborough railway line runs through the town, providing links to
Birmingham,
Leicester,
Peterborough and
Cambridge.
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.
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 road between
Melton Mowbray and
Stamford. On the
10 January 2007, the new bypass opened diverting traffic from the busy town centre.
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 1836-7 by Oakham
Poor Law Union, it served as a workhouse for 167 inmates, until it became
Catmose Vale Hospital. It now accommodates two "day" (non-boarding) School Houses for girls.
Sports and recreation
Oakham
Rugby Football Club play at the
Rutland Showground.
Also Oakham Imps Football clubs trains on the Oakham School astroturf adjacent to the railway and play their matches at the
Vale of Catmose College football pitches
Notable people
Sir Jeffrey Hudson
Titus Oates
Johnny Vaughan
Jay Kay
Street map
Gallery
All Saints Church
Image:Oakham_Church_and_cottage.jpg|All Saints Church seen from Northgate
Image:Oakham Church perspective corrected.jpg|All Saints Church from footpath between Church Street and Market Place
Image:Oakham Church Interior.jpg|Interior of All Saints Church. View from north aisle looking southwest towards font
Image:Oakham Adam and Eve.jpg|Early 14th century stonecarving of the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
Image:Oakham Capital fox and geese.jpg|Early 14th century capital, showing fox and geese and other creatures
Image:Oakham Church capital Angel Gabriel.jpg|Early 14th century capital, showing the Angel Gabriel (detail of the Annunciation), left, and Adam and Eve between Christ and the Jaws of Hell (right)
Image:Oakham Green Man capital.jpg|Early 14th century capital, showing a Green Man
Other buildings
Image:Oakhamfront.jpg|Oakham railway station
Image:OakhamStocks.jpg|The stocks, under the Buttercross
Image:OakhamInscription.jpg|Inscription above the Old School door
Cutts Close
Image:Oakham_Cutts_Close.jpg|Cutts Close park - looking southwest towards the original Oakham School building, with the bandstand to the right
Further Information
Get more info on 'Oakham'.
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