Cottesmore (often pronounced Cotts'more) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the north of the county of

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

of England. In terms of population it is the largest village in Rutland, and the third-largest settlement after

Oakham Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland (of which it is the county town) in the East Midlands of England. The town is located east of Leicester, southeast of Nottingham and northwest of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,14 ...

and

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

. This is due in part to the presence of

Kendrew Barracks Kendrew Barracks is a British Army barracks located north east of Cottesmore, Rutland, England. The barracks opened in 2012, at the site of former RAF Cottesmore. History RAF Cottesmore RAF Cottesmore opened in 1938 and operated until 20 ...

(formerly

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 ...

). The village's name means 'moor of Cott'. At the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

(mid 11th century), "Manors Cottesmore" was held, together with Greetham, by Saxon called Goda. Goda held 12

carucate The carucate or carrucate ( or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms of tax assessment. ...

s of land, three of which were held in tax to the

Danegeld Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or Protection racket, protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-c ...

. The King held three

s in demesne and three socmen with 40

villeins A villein is a class of serf tied to the land under the feudal system. As part of the contract with the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields in return for land. Villeins existed under a ...

and six bordarii held 20

s. Of the land held by the manor, one Goisfridus held half a

; he had one plough and eight

. Cottesmore also had of meadow and a wood measuring a mile in length by seven furlongs in breadth. St Nicholas' Church, Cottesmore is a Grade II* listed building. The north aisle forms a RAF chapel, dedicated in 1949 to those who gave their lives while serving at RAF Cottesmore. 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 Cottesmore Benefice is part of the North Rutland Churches group. There are two primary schools in the parish: St Nicholas C of E (Aided) Primary School is in the village and Cottesmore Academy is on the military base. 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 ...

takes its name from the village (although the kennels are not now in the parish). Sir

William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG (29 December 175719 March 1844), also known as Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Little Preston, from 1788 to 1802, and William Lowther, 2nd Viscount Lowther, from 1802 to 1807, was a British Tory pol ...

brought the foxhounds he had bought from Thomas Noel to Cottesmore in 1740. Three ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Cottesmore'' after the Cottesmore hunt.

Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger bro ...

commanded the minesweeper HMS ''Cottesmore'' (M32) from April 1993 until November 1994 and visited the village with members of his crew.

References

External links

thelivingvillage.co.uk
History of the village website, funded by HLF

Villages in Rutland Civil parishes in Rutland {{Rutland-geo-stub

See also

References

External links