Whissendine

Whissendine

Whissendine

Human settlement in England

Whissendine is a village and civil parish in Rutland, England, north-west of the county town, Oakham. The population at the 2001 census was 1,189, increasing to 1,253 at the 2011 census.[3]

The White Lion public house
Whissendine Windmill

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The village's name either means 'valley of Hwicce' or 'valley of the people of Hwicci'. Alternatively, perhaps 'valley of the pirates'.[4]

It has a pub, The White Lion; a Church of England parish church and a working windmill. The Methodist chapel closed in 2009, the last service being held on 30 August.

Whissendine Windmill was built in 1809 and returned to milling in September 2006.[5][6][7] The windmill is a Grade II* listed building and is said to be the tallest stone windmill in the country.[8]

St Andrew's Church, Whissendine[9] was built in the 13th century and has a 14th-century tower.[10] The screen to the Lady Chapel was brought here from the old chapel of St John's College, Cambridge during the 1870 restoration by George Gilbert Scott.[10] St Andrew's is a Grade I listed building.[10]

Whissendine Church of England Primary School is in the middle of the village.

The Village Hall hosts many events throughout the year including antiques fairs and the village pantomime. Each year in late June, the village hosts a "feast week", an ancient custom from the Middle Ages that has been reintroduced and entails a week of activities for the community. This includes a 6-mile run, a UK Athletics licensed race,[11] the Feast week extravaganza, the knockout and the fete on the green.

The village also has a sports club that has a cricket team, football pitch, tennis club, archery club and a bowling green.

The pasture called The Banks is still let by ancient custom. This involves a candle in which a pin is stuck is lit and the last bidder before the pin falls is entitled to rent The Banks for the ensuing year.

The village had a scout troop up until 2010 and a cub pack until 2012.

The village is on the Rutland Round, the circular walk around Britain's smallest county.

In 2019, the parish was the location of an unlicensed rave reported to have been attended by 700 people.[12]

Local figures

Edward Horne (1835 – 1908), clergyman and cricketer, died at Whissendine. He was vicar from 1864 until he retired in 1906; he remained in the village and died there two years later.

Richard Kettle (1813 - 1915), born in Whissendine, was an early farming pioneer in Helidon, Queensland, Australia, with his family. His family may have emigrated to Australia when, after the death of Lord Harborough, the estate, with the village, was split up in 1861 and the tenants had the opportunity to buy their farms and cottages.[citation needed]

Horace Snary (1897 – 1966) played first-class cricket for Leicestershire between 1921 and 1933. He was born and died at Whissendine.

British photo colouriser and model maker Tom Marshall grew up in the village.[13]

Musician Sam Carter grew up in Whissendine and attended Whissendine Primary School and Vale of Catmose College. His song 'Station Road' is about the road in the village.

"Whissendine" is the title of a song by the band Crippled Black Phoenix

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "A vision of Britain through time". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  2. [2]
    "Rutland Civil Parish Populations" (PDF). Rutland County Council. 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  3. [3]
    "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Key to English Place-names".
  5. [5]
    "Cotswolds Millwrights Home". Cotswolds Millwrights Co. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  6. [6]
    "Nigel brings windmill back to life". Melton Times. Johnston Press. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  7. [7]
    "The Working Windmill". BBC News. 8 July 2009.
  8. [8]
    Historic England (3 February 1972). "The Windmill (1073211)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  9. [9]
    St Andrew Whissendine
  10. [10]
    Historic England (14 June 1954). "Church of St Andrew (1295308)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  11. [11]
    RunBritain website
  12. [12]
    "Quiet Rutland village invaded by 700 ravers for weekend". BBC News. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  13. [13]
    "Tom brings photos to life and tears to your eyes". www.meltontimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

Further reading

Media related to Whissendine at Wikimedia Commons
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