Whissendine is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, north-west of the county town,
Oakham. The population at the 2001 census was 1,189, increasing to 1,253 at the 2011 census.
The village's name either means 'valley of Hwicce' or 'valley of the people of Hwicci'. Alternatively, perhaps 'valley of the
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s'.
It has a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, The White Lion; a
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
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. The windmill is a
Grade II* listed building and is said to be the tallest stone windmill in the country.
St Andrew's Church, Whissendine was built in the 13th century and has a 14th-century tower.
The screen to the
Lady Chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...
was brought here from the old chapel of
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
during the 1870 restoration by
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
.
[ St Andrew's is a Grade I listed building.][
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
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
. 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, the Feast week extravaganza, the knockout and the fete on the green.
The village also has a sports club that has a cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
team, football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
pitch, tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
club, archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
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.
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
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
(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.
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 artist Tom Marshall grew up in the village.
In popular culture
"Whissendine" is the title of a song by the band Crippled Black Phoenix
Crippled Black Phoenix are an English dark rock band, founded by Justin Greaves in 2004. Several musicians have contributed to Crippled Black Phoenix's albums and played with them during their live shows.
History
In 2004, Justin Greaves, previou ...
See also
* Whissendine Brook
References
Further reading
*
External links
Whissendine Village website
{{authority control
Villages in Rutland
Civil parishes in Rutland