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Manton Manton is situated south-west of Rutland Water. Its name is from the Old English maen and tun, ‘settlement on a rock’. It is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086 so was most likely one of the seven berewicks of Hambleton. At least one cropmark of a prehistoric burial mound has been recorded in the parish. Evaluation and excavation in advance of development in 2007 recorded evidence of late Anglo-Saxon activity, including a number of quarry pits and evidence of a post-built structure. Other archaeological remains are known located to the north of this site. The remains of the deserted medieval village of Martinsthorpe are to the west of the modern village. The holy well The field-name 'Hollywell Gutter' is recorded in 1749. The field-name Crosswell Gutter in the same source presumably refers to the same site so we can fairly sure it was once a 'holy well' and not a well near a holly tree. Possibly this well was close to the College of the Blessed Mary at Manton. Not much is known about this small religious institution but it was founded in 1356 and dissolved in 1548. More details here. The railway Manton is one of the few villages in the country with a railway tunnel running underneath. This does not detract from the generally very pleasing streetscapes of houses, many of which date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The railway opened in 1880 to connect Oakham and Kettering. For many decades there was a once-each-day non-stopping service to and from London St Pancras. The reason was that a company director lived at Manton. But this timetable quirk long outlived him. The line was closed to passengers in 1967 but still carries extensive freight traffic and provides a diversionary route for the Midland Main Line. see www.rutlandhistory.org/HRW/chapter-010 for a detailed history of Manton. St Mary's church   Manton church in 2001. The Romanesque tower of St Mary's church is topped by a rather massive thirteenth century bellcote and west front. The aisle arcades and north doorway were constructed about 1200. The rest of the church was mostly rebuilt in the fourteenth century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1796 with large Georgian windows. The font is Romanesque. Probably thirteenth or fourteenth century is the stone coffin decorated with a beautiful cross. Also notable is the tall almsbox which is of 1637. Rather unusual is the memorial to Robert Heathcote who died in 1917, as this has a low-relief portrait of the deceased.   The Manton 'mermaids' Among the many gravestones look out for one decorated with what at first glance might be taken for a pair of mermaids. They are more accurately 'soul effigies' – an eighteenth century motif of a face with two wings intended to represent the soul of the deceased – although these have exceptionally extensive scroll decoration. Victoria County History page for Manton. 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