home page   what's new?   email bobtrubs@indigogroup.co.uk to request updates (please mention Rutland Village by Village) or to offer new information   Rutland Village by Village only WWW Village by Village Ashwell Ayston Barleythorpe Barrow Barrowden Beaumont Chase Belmesthorpe Belton-in-Rutland Bisbrooke Braunston-in-Rutland Brooke Burley Caldecott Clipsham Cottesmore Edith Weston Egleton Empingham Essendine Exton Glaston Great Casterton Greetham Gunthorpe Hambleton Horn Ketton Langham Leighfield Little Casterton Lyddington Lyndon Manton Market Overton Martinsthorpe Morcott Normanton North Luffenham Oakham Pickworth Pilton Preston Ridlington Ryhall Seaton South Luffenham Stoke Dry Stretton Teigh Thistleton Thorpe by Water Tickencote Tinwell Tixover Uppingham Wardley Whissendine Whitwell Wing This site sponsored by   Heart of Albion

The making of Rutland Water The Gwash valley in 1884. The red spot is Normanton church. Hambleton Planning for the 'largest reservoir in the UK' a began in the late 1960s and construction commenced around 1971. At around 2½ square miles (6.5 square kilometres) it has has the largest surface area of any man-made European reservoir. However the capacity of Kielder Water, Northumberland, is greater. Originally planned as Empingham Reservoir, it was renamed Rutland Water in 1976. This came about because local government changes in 1974 had merged Rutland into Leicestershire. By calling it 'Rutland Water' it was felt that the name 'Rutland' would live on. In the event Leicestershire County Council handled the merger sensitively and Rutland has retained its identity despite losing its independence. A clay dam 1,300 yards (1,200 metres) long and 115 feet (35 metres) high was constructed across the Gwash valley near Empingham. Material for the dam was extracted from pits dug within the area that would be subsequently flooded. Nether Hambleton and most of Middle Hambleton were demolished and any wells plugged as part of the ground preparation. The lower part of Normanton church was strengthened to withstand innundation. Visitor facilities were constructed near Barnsdale, Egleton, Empingham, Normanton, Lyndon and Whitwell. Normanton church was adapted to become a museum of water supply. There is a 23 mile (37 km) perimeter track (17 mile or 27 km excluding Hambleton Peninsula). The dam was completed in 1975 and both branches of the Gwash began to flood, leaving Upper Hambleton as a peninsula. However the drought of 1975–6 meant that the reservoir did not reach capacity until 1977. Most of the stored water is extracted from the River Welland (between Tinwell and Stamford) and from the River Nene (upstream from Peterborough). Most of the treated water supplied to Peterborough comes from Rutland Water. The Gwash makes a net input but its flow downstream is maintained. The reservoir is a strategic water resource. The water is treated at Wing then distributed around the South and East Midlands. When necessary water is transferred to other regional reservoirs to ensure a reliable water supply. Looking south-west in July 2006. The water and shore forms a Site of Special Scientific Interest as it is an internationally important wetland site for wintering populations of Gadwall and Shoveler. Other birds found here include Coot, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Pochard, Teal, Tufted Duck and Wigeon. Best-known is the successfully re-introduced population of Osprey. The hides of the Anglian Water Bird Watching Centre are near Egleton. At the western end the margins are enclosed by banks so that the wetland nature reserve is maintained. This area is managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.   The Great Tower in 2009. In 1980 a very modern monument appeared on the shoreline of Rutland Water. Alexander's 9.3 metre high bronze sculpture called 'The Great Tower' was erected on the north shore of Rutland Water. At the time it was thought to be the biggest single-piece cast bronze sculpture ever made. The sculptor's full name was Alexander Charles Gain and he lived from 1927 until 2023. Temnodontosaurus During routine draining of a lagoon in 2021 the nature reserve manager, Joe Davis, discovered an ichthyosaur fossil. The skeleton measuries about 30 feet (~9 metres) in length and the skull alone weighs about a tonne. It was identified as Temnodontosaurus ('cutting-tooth lizard') and is the largest and most complete fossil of its kind found in the UK. 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