Ketton 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 authorit ...

in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

and west of

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a town and civil parish in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed ...

. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 1,926, making it the fourth largest settlement in Rutland, after Oakham,

Uppingham Uppingham is a market town in Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of the county town, Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. It is known for its ...

and Cottesmore. The village has an outstanding primary school with 204 children currently on roll. Ketton gave its name to the Ketton Rural District of Rutland which existed from 1894 to 1974. Ketton ward, which also includes the parishes of

Barrowden Barrowden is a village in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. ] The village's name means 'burial-mound hill'. There are a number of Tumulus, barrows in the area. The population of the civil parish was 506 at the 2011 census. There i ...

, Tinwell and Tixover has two councillors on

Rutland County Council Rutland County Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The current council was created in April 1997. The population of the council's area at the 2011 census was 37,369. As a unitar ...

Village

The village's name origin is dubious. Maybe, 'river of Ceta', with the subsequent component later remodelled as the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

'tun'. Otherwise, this is potentially an old name for the

River Chater The River Chater is a river in the East Midlands of England. It is a tributary of the River Welland, and is about long. Course It rises near Whatborough Hill in Leicestershire, and then flows east, past Sauvey Castle and Launde Abbey, befor ...

or the Old English tribal name, 'Cetan'. It was originally three separate settlements: Ketton, Aldgate and Geeston; but as they grew they merged to form the village that Ketton is today. The village has a post office and general store, a library, two pubs (the Railway Inn and the Northwick Arms), a sports centre, a playschool and a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

primary school. The village has two churches (Church of England and Methodist). The earliest parts of St Mary's Church, the Church of England parish church, are 12th century. The church has a central tower and spire. The west front is an example of late 12th century transitional architecture and the remainder of the church is mainly 13th century. The nave was restored under the direction of George Gilbert Scott in 1861–62 and the chancel under the direction of his pupil

Thomas Graham Jackson Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet (21 December 1835 – 7 November 1924) was one of the most distinguished British architects of his generation. He is best remembered for his work at Oxford, including the Oxford Military College at Cowl ...

in 1863–66. Jackson's chancel roof was painted by Ninian Comper in 1950. The stone is from Barnack. There are Ketton headstones in the churchyard; one by the lychgate depicts mason's tools and is by stonemason William Hibbins of Ketton. William Hibbins built Hibbins House, which is still standing today. The spire is 144 feet (44 metres) high. Robert of Ketton was the first person to translate the Qur'an into Latin. The translation was complete by 1143.

Ketton stone and cement

The village gives its name to Ketton stone, a limestone which is quarried locally and is used in many buildings in the village and elsewhere. Some areas of former quarrying, Ketton Quarries, are now a SSSI, Site of Special Scientific Interest, maintained by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The limestone is used to make cement. Ketton Cement Works opened in 1928 and by November that year the number of staff had risen to 250. The plant, owned by Hanson Cement (now part of HeidelbergCement), meets more than 10% of the UK demand for cement. In 2013 Rutland County Council approve
plans
for Lark Energy to build a solar farm on land reclaimed from a 1940s quarry. The solar farm provides 13% of the cement work's annual energy consumption. The second phase was opened in 2015 by Secretary of State for Energy Amber Rudd.

Wind energy in Ketton

In 2004

planning committee resolved to approve a planning application for one wind turbine on land adjacent to the cement works off Steadfold Lane in Ketton. However, issues surrounding fast jets flying from RAF Cottesmore meant that a planning permission was never granted. In 2011 REG Windpower announce
plans
to install two wind turbines near Steadfold Lane. The proposal was withdrawn in August 2012.

Transport

Ketton is served by buses on the service between Stamford and

. Ketton and Collyweston railway station closed in 1966.

References

External links