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Wardley Wardley is located about two miles west of Uppingham, close to the A47. It forms part of the parish of Ridlington. The place-name translates as the 'warden's clearing'. Old English weardian, meaning 'keep guard, watch, protect, preserve', evolves into modern English words such as 'warden' (and, via French, 'guardian'). Old English leah originally denotes a clearing in a wood, which must be the case here. Later the clearings get overgrown and leah becomes the word for woodland where livestock are allowed to graze. The small settlement straddles a steep hill with good views. The Normans built a castle a short distance to the east on the parish boundary with Uppingham. This presumably took over the look out duties formerly associated with Wardley. Wardley was in Oakham Soke. St Botolph's church   Wardley church in 2002. St Botolph of Thorney was an English abbot who died about 680. He is regarded as the patron saint of boundaries and, by extension, of trade and travel. Many of the churches dedicated to him were historically built near city gates, wharves, or boundaries. Wardley is close to the border with Leicestershire and on a former salt way and prehistoric transhumance route. Pilgrims from Leicester would have passed this church on their way to and from Peterborough Abbey. More about St Botolph. St Botolph's church has Norman origins, with a south doorway dating from about 1175 and a north doorway of about 1200. The nave is mostly early thirteenth-century. The church was thoroughly restored in 1861 and the chancel was rebuilt in 1871. Inside there is a late eighteenth century font, Commandment boards, a small barrel organ and early nineteenth century pews that have lost their doors. St Botolph's closed to regular worship in 2010. Since 2016 the building has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.   The Commandment boards. Victoria County History page for Wardley. 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 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 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 Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland