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Belton in Rutland All photographs taken 2002. Belton is situated on the south-western boundary of Rutland and Leicestershire. It is about six miles (9.6 km) south-west of Oakham and about four miles (6.4 km) west of Uppingham. The name probably means the settlement (tun) near a beacon. Rutland once had many look-out places on its boundaries. To the immediate south-east of the village is Littleworth. It is on rising ground above the Eye Brook and just two hundred yards from parish boundary. The 'worth' element suggests a defensive settlement with the 'little' suggesting it was smaller than typical worths. However someone spotted that instead of being a settlement name Littleworth could have been the name of a field with poor soils i.e. of little financial value. The location makes the more ironic 'reading' seem less probable. The name was changed from simply 'Belton' to 'Belton in Rutland' in March 1982 to avoid confusion with Belton in north Leicestershire. It was in Oakham Soke. The older houses in the village are built of ironstone, some with roofs of Colleyweston stone. The Old Hall is early seventeenth century while Westbourne House is eighteenth century in Queen Anne style. In 1776 a devasting fire destroyed about half of the buildings in Belton. Details in Rutland Record No.38. The earthworks of a 'lost' watermill are discussed in Rutland Record No.18. St Peter's Church St Peter's church stands on a mound. The building retains evidence of a fire in the thirteenth century. The font is also thirteenth century. Look out for the drain in the south aisle piscina in the form of a monster's head. The church reveals several phases of building and alteration in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and perhaps a little later. Much of the interior dates to 1897–1901. Outside there are lots of gargoyles on the south side and a tongue poker on a south aisle window. A double partial effigy from the thirteenth century and medieval tomb covers have been placed on top of the churchyard wall. There alabaster slabs commemorating sixteenth century Haselwoods living in the Old Hall. One of many unusual medieval carvings on the exterior of the church. Victoria County History page for Belton. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2026 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/rutland

Rutland's history home page what's new? glossary bibliography Rutland's geology Rutland's boundaries Rutland's rivers long, long ago prehistoric Rutland Roman Rutland long ago Anglo-Saxon Rutland Rutland's place-names waterborne transport around the sixth century Rutland's early churches Anglo-Saxon sculpture in Rutland The Matter of Rutland what the Normans did for Rutland Romanesque sculpture in Rutland Rutland's royal forests Rutland in medieval times Rutland's scratch dials Rutland's medieval carvings Rutland's sepulchral effigies Rutland's saltways Rutland in Tudor times Dissolution in Rutland not that long ago Rutland in the 17th century pinfolds and pounds in Rutland dovecotes in Rutland Rutland in the 18th century turnpiking Rutland Rutland's springs and wells changes in Rutland's agriculture since 1800 seems like yesterday Rutland's dialect Rutland's folk customs travellers in Rutland watermills and windmills in Rutland breweries in Rutland gasworks in Rutland ironstone quarrying in Rutland Zeppelins over Rutland redundant telephone exchanges in Rutland Second World War in Rutland WWII airfields and pillboxes in Rutland the making of Rutland Water Rutland Weekend Television free online history resources Victoria County History: Rutland volume one Victoria County History: Rutland volume two free PDFs of Rutland Record issues 1 to 50 old OS maps Historic England Listed buildings database Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland Open Domesday English Place-Name Society database Wikipedia list of places in Rutland (with links to village entries) Wikipedia list of people from Rutland researching and writing local history getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around Rutland Belton-in-Rutland History Society Cottesmore History and Archaeology Group Langham Village History Group Lyddington Manor History Society Rutland Local History and Record Society with free PDFs of over forty issues of the Rutland Record Uppingham Local History Study Group you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Vale of Belvoir Chronicle Barrowby Until Now website