Thistleton

Thistleton is the most northerly village in the county of Rutland, and a civil parish, in the East Midlands of England. The population of the village at the 2001 census was 99. It remained less than 100 at the 2011 census and was counted together with the civil parish of Stretton.

For other uses, see Thistleton (disambiguation).

Thistleton

The church of St Nicholas
Thistleton
Location within Rutland
Area2.15 sq mi (5.6 km2) [1]
Population99 2001 Census[2]
• Density46/sq mi (18/km2)
OS grid referenceSK913180
• London89 miles (143 km) SSE
Unitary authority
Shire county
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townOAKHAM
Postcode districtLE15
Dialling code01572
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

The Thistleton area has shown evidence of Romano-British occupation including a large temple precinct and a possible small market settlement.[3] To the north of the village there has been extensive mining for ironstone, a stone that has featured very prominently in the building of many churches and other buildings in the area for centuries. It was thought that the mining had obliterated evidence of the former greater extent of the village but much archaeology has survived showing that the original Romano-British settlement extended some 100 acres (0.40 km2) at least. Extensive surveys, brought about by the planning of a haulage road to the quarry to pass through the site of the ancient township, revealed features including a well-preserved Roman road and the skeleton of a child buried well away from the cemetery. The archaeology is ongoing as the mining continues.[4]

The village contains several listed buildings including the Old Rectory and the Church of St Nicholas.[5] Many of the village’s buildings are stone-walled and thatched. Although the church is of medieval origin only the 14th century, three-stage tower, complete with gargoyles, remains. The church has been rebuilt in the late 18th by the Brudenells, and the rector, the Rev.d John Henry Fludyer, 4th Baronet to whose family the elaborate chancel is a memorial. The newer building is fourteenth century in style however the shape of the apse is, unusually, half an octagon externally and a semi-circular shape inside. Most of the internal fittings, including the font and the organ, are relatively modern.[6]

Close by, to the south of the village, lies the RAF Cottesmore airfield established a few years before WWII. The airfield is now the Army's Kendrew Barracks.

Boxing match
Molineaux vs Cribb, 1811

On 28 September 1811 a massive crowd of up to 20,000 watched a prizefight at Thistleton Gap. Tom Cribb fought the American Tom Molineaux in a hotly contested re-match for the heavyweight championship of England. The match was a matter of national pride and the names of both these men were famous throughout the land. The venue was chosen as the three counties of Rutland, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire met there and if the police arrived to halt the illegal fight the boxers and crowd could escape across the county boundary. In the eleventh round Cribb knocked out Molineaux. The original match, a year before, had ended in exhaustion for both men after a gruelling 33 rounds with accusations of cheating. During the intervening period both men had lost weight; Cribb because of extensive training with the famous Captain Barclay and Molineaux due to loss of muscle whilst earning his keep at local prizefighting venues.[7]

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gollark: Apparently doing not-much-configuration mesh routing is a very hard problem, and it seems like the existing protocols are designed in ways which make it annoying too.
gollark: It would be neat if mesh networking was more practical.
gollark: There was also somewhat less carbohydratey stuff (bread/pasta) available for a bit, as far as I could tell.
gollark: (although marmite rice cakes seem to be missing now?)

References
  1. "A vision of Britain through time". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  2. "Rutland Civil Parish Populations" (PDF). Rutland County Council. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Local history". www.rutlandhistory.org.
  5. "Listed Buildings in Rutland". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
  6. "Parishes: Thistleton | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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