St Nicholas' Church is a church in

Cottesmore, Rutland Cottesmore (often pronounced Cotts'more) is a village and civil parish in the north of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. In terms of population it is the largest village in Rutland, and the third-largest settlement after O ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building. The Cottesmore Benefice is part of the North Rutland Churches group.

History

The current church mostly dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and is built of stone from

Clipsham Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing to ...

, which is nearby. Most of the decoration of the church dates back to the rebuilding in the

Edwardian period In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

. The tower dates to the 14th century. In the northern wall some 12th-century stonework can be seen, and at the eastern end of the church some stonework set into buttresses can be seen. The southern doorway has

zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

patterns possibly dating from the 12th century. The tower has three bells, the earliest dating back to 1598. The base of the 12th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

was used as a horse-stone at Cottesmore Hall, and doesn't match the bowl. The base was probably used as part of a cross in the churchyard. The font features a

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

scene and a bishop carrying out a blessing. A 16th-century grave slab has been mentioned being in the southern aisle, but it is now covered by chairs and is difficult to see. A stained-glass window was erected to the memory of Major General

George Williams Knox Major-General George Williams Knox CB (18 January 1838"Births". ''The Belfast Newsletter'' 30 January 1838. p. 4. – 6 March 1894) was a British soldier. Knox was born in Leamington Priors the son of Brownlow Knox and Louisa Sutton. He was c ...

CB (1838 - 1894). The

colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

of the 1st Battalion

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

were gifted to the church by his widow and hang in the nave. The north aisle forms a RAF chapel, dedicated in 1949 to commemorate those who died whilst working at

RAF Cottesmore Royal Air Force Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the stati ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was designed by Sir

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and de ...

. When

No. 98 Squadron RAF No. 98 Squadron was a Royal Air Force bomber squadron during World War I and World War II. It flew fighter-bombers post-war, and converted to fighters in 1955. Reformed as a ballistic missile unit between 1959 and 1963, its final incarnation was ...

was disbanded in 1976, its colours were laid-up in the chapel. There is a

lifebuoy A lifebuoy or life ring, among many other names (see § Other names), is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activat ...

from a Second World War destroyer named HMS ''Cottesmore''. The ship was 'adopted' by Rutland for National Savings Warship Week Campaign held in 1942. In the churchyard, you can find the grave of Richard Westbrook Baker (1789-1861),

Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement offic ...

, who developed the Rutland Plough and originated, in 1830, the small allotment system. Also, the graves of the people who were part of the

Cottesmore Hunt The Cottesmore Hunt, which hunts mostly in Rutland, is one of the oldest foxhound packs in Britain, with origins dating back to 1666. Its name comes from the village of Cottesmore, Rutland, Cottesmore where the hounds were kennelled. History T ...

. Starting in 1732, it is one of the oldest hunts in the country.

Rectors

* William Brereton * John Bury *

Peter Gunning Peter Gunning (1614 – 6 July 1684) was an English Royalist church leader, Bishop of Chichester and Bishop of Ely. Life He was born at Hoo St Werburgh, in Kent, and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and Clare College, Cambridge, whe ...

* Weston Stewart

References

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