Empingham is a village in the county of

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 l ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area tradi ...

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 ...

. The population of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

was 815 at the 2001 census including Horn and increasing to 880 at the 2011 census. It lies close to the dam of

Rutland Water Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland's county town, Oakham. It is filled by pumping from the River Nene and River Welland, and provides water to the East Midlands. By surface area it is the largest reservoir in E ...

and the A606 runs through the village. During construction, Empingham Reservoir was the name of the reservoir but it was renamed Rutland Water to preserve the name of the county which was being merged with Leicestershire. The village's name means 'farm/settlement of the people of Empa'.http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Rutland/Empingham% The church of St Peter was a Peculiar of the

see of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the P ...

. When the diocese of Peterborough was created, this church remained tied to

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

and the title of a

Prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

there. To the north east on the Great North Road (now A1) the Battle of Empingham was fought in 1470 as part of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought be ...

. The battle is also known as

Battle of Losecoat Field The Battle of Losecoat Field (also known as the Battle of Empingham) was fought on 12 March 1470, during the Wars of the Roses. Spellings of "Losecoat" vary, with "Losecote" and "Loose-coat" also seen. The battle secured the defeat of the poor ...

(or Losecote Field), supposedly because the defeated Lancastrians, when fleeing, threw off the distinguishing clothing. However the name probably predates the battle and means pigsty field. Forms of Losecote also appear as field names in other parishes in Rutland. Contemporary accounts refer to the battle site as Hornfield. An adjacent woodland is now called Bloody Oaks. cmglee_Empingham_church.jpg, St Peter's Church, Empingham The White Horse, Empingham - geograph.org.uk - 456705.jpg, The White Horse

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{{authority control Villages in Rutland Civil parishes in Rutland

See also

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