Ketton, Rutland
Historical Description
Ketton, a village and a parish in Rutland. The village stands on the river Chater, adjacent to the Peterborough and Syston branch of the M.R., near the boundary with Northamptonshire, 3½ miles SW by W of Stamford, and has a station on the railway, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Stamford. The parish contains also the hamlets of Geeston, Aldgate, and Kelthorpe. Acreage, 3338; population of the civil parish, 1035; of the ecclesiastical, with Tixover, 1121. The old manor belonged in the time of Stephen to Richard de Humel, and passed through various hands to the Harringtons and the Noels. The manor of Kelthorpe belongs to Lord Willoughby de Eresby, and the manors of Grenehams, Whitwells, and Hutchins belong to Lady North-wich. Ketton Hall is a mansion in the Tudor style, standing in a park of 70 acres. The Ketton quarries, about a mile N of the village, are noted for their excellent freestone. The living is a vicarage, united with the perpetual curacy of Tixover, in the diocese of Peterborough; net value, £S 13 with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Peterborough. The church is partly Norman, partly Early English, comprises nave, aisles, chancel, and N and S transepts, with a central tower, surmounted by a spire 180 feet high, was restored at much expense in 1861-63, with insertion of Early Decorated English new tracery in most of the windows, and contains three sedilia, and formerly had an old painting of St Christopher. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels, and some small charities.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Rutlandshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Ketton St. Mary | |
| Hundred | East | |
| Poor Law union | Stamford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, have the following parish records online for Ketton:
| Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1567-1916 | 1732-1812 | 1561-1931 | 1568-1978 |
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary is a fine old building of stone in the Transition and Early English styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, south porch, and a central tower with octagonal broach spire 150ft. in height, and containing 6 bells, the largest of which is dated 1606 and the rest respectively 1598, 1601, 1609, 1640 and 1713: the aisles and porch are embattled: the western doorway, a fine example of Transition work, consists of a large semi-circular recessed arch in three orders, much enriched with Early English moulding, and on either side is a pointed arch: the tower has an elegant triplet of Early English windows in each face, and the spire is relieved by three tiers of crocketed dormer lights, the two upper tiers being alternately disposed at different levels: the chancel retains three sedilia and has a stained east window: an ancient fresco of St. Christopher, discovered on the north wall in 1844, has since been destroyed through the rebuilding of the walls: in the north aisle is a monument to the Caldecote family, erected in 1594: the nave, aisles and transepts were restored in 1861, at a cost of £2,150, under the direction of Sir G. G. Scott R.A.: the wall of the north aisle and the old circular staircase leading to the belfry, a portion of which was found built into the wall of the south aisle, were both rebuilt: all the windows, except a large fifteenth century one on the south side, were filled with new tracery of the Early Decorated style, the original tracery having disappeared: the church was re-opened on Lady Day, 1862: the chancel was restored in 1863 by Sir Graham Jackson: there are 350 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ketton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ketton (St. Mary))
- Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland, 1928
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Rutland is online.
Maps
Online maps of Ketton are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Villages, Hamlets, &c
GeestonKelthorpe
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Rutland, 1618-19 and The Visitation of Rutland 1681-2 are available to browse on the Heraldry page.