Whissendine, Rutland
Historical Description
Whissendine, a village and a large parish in Rutland. The village stands near the borders of Leicestershire, 1½ mile SSW of a station of its own name on the Syston and Peterborough and Nottingham and Fettering branches of the M.R., and 4½ miles NNW of Oakham. It was known in the Norman times as Wichingedine, is a scattered place, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Oakham. The parish comprises 4043 acres; population, 723. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belonged to Waltheof, the nephew of William the Conqueror, passed to the Wakes, the Hollands, the Greys, and others, and belongs now to the Kennedy family. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough; gross value, £160. The church is a very fine building of stone in the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, transepts, S porch, and a western pinnacled tower. There are Primitive Methodist and Wesleyan chapels.
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 | Whissendine St. Andrew | |
| Hundred | Alstoe | |
| Poor Law union | Oakham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1577.
Findmypast, in association with the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, have the following parish records online for Whissendine:
| Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1577-1916 | 1754-1811 | 1577-1931 | 1577-1934 |
Churches
Church of England
St. Andrew (parish church)
The church of St. Andrew, situated on an acclivity, is a building of stone, in the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, transepts, south porch and a Decorated western tower with pinnacles, containing a clock, added in 1911, and 6 bells, re-hung in 1919 by Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. J. Gretton C.B.E., V.D., M.P., J.P. ; one of these was hung by subscription in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, to whose memory a handsomely carved font cover of oak was also provided: at the south transept is an ancient carved oak screen removed from the old chapel of St. John's College, Cambridge: the screen in the north aisle was erected to the memory of Mrs. Chaplin by her children and there is a brass tablet to Mrs. Emily Chaplin, erected by the parishioners: a new organ, the gift of Frank Chaplin esq. was installed in 1928: the carved stone pulpit was given in 1888 by Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Chaplin in memory of Edward Chaplin and George Vere Boyle; and the choir stalls of carved oak were presented by the same donors in 1899, as a memorial to their son, Charles Chaplin: in 1904 carved oak panels were added to the choir stalls: in 1912 a stained glass east window, an oak reredos and oak panelling round the chancel were presented by Mrs. Chaplin, in memory of her husband, Cecil Chaplin esq. and of her son Frederick Chaplin esq.: the church was restored about 1870, under the direction of Sir George G. Scott and J. Goddard esq. at a cost of about £2,300: there are 240 sittings: in 1920 the masonry of the whole church was repaired and repointed, the cost being defrayed by Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. John Gretton C.B.E., V.D., M.P., J.P.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Whissendine from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Whissendine (St. Andrew))
- 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 Whissendine 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)
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Rutland, 1618-19 and The Visitation of Rutland 1681-2 are available to browse on the Heraldry page.