England’s counties: Rutland

County motto: Much in little

Properties for sale in Rutland

Best thing Rutland Water, created in the 1970s, is the largest reservoir in Britain and a haven for wildlife

Local food Ruddles beer; Oakham farmers market

Hero John James Robert Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland

Events Rutland Agricultural Show; Rush Bearing & Rush Strewing, Barrowden; Hedge Cutting and Ploughing Match Competition; Oakham Festival

Battle In 1470, at the Battle of Losecoat Field, Edward IV crushed a rebellion by Warwick the Kingmaker thanks to the royal artillery. The fleeing rebels threw away their jackets to avoid detection

Worst thing Titus Oates, the greatest liar in Christendom, had trouble telling the truth and fabricated the Popish Plot

Etymology First mentioned as Roteland in the will of Edward the Confessor, then as ‘the King’s soc of Roteland’ in the Domesday Book, and in King John’s reign, it was assigned as a dowry to Queen Isabella

Architectural identity Rutland’s older buildings are constructed from ironstone and Collyweston slates

Nickname Locals are known as Raddlemen

Custom: Rutland has an ancient custom by which any peer of the realm must forfeit a horseshoe on his first visit to the county by order of the Lord of the Manor

Top secret: The church at Stoke Dry is thought to be where the gunpowder plot was hatched by Guy Fawkes and his gang

Titbits Jeffrey Hudson from Oakham was only 18in tall until he was 30, and he never exceeded 3ft 6in; the medieval turf maze at Wing is one of the last remaining in the country

Houses and churches Oakham Castle’s Great Hall with its astonishing horseshoe collection; Lyddington Bede House; Exton church with its incredibly ornate monuments; Tickencote church with a great Norman chancel arch

Population 38,300 Acreage 96,989 County flower Clustered bellflower Miles of footpath 199 Hours of sunshine 1,438 Highest peak Cold Overton Park 197m/646ft Life expectancy 81.7 years Did you know? Rutland is the only county in England without a McDonald’s restaurant