Oakham

Oakham is the county town of Rutland, England.

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It has a population of about 10,000 and lies close to Rutland Water, one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe; there are good road links to:

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• Melton Mowbray,
• Corby, and
• Stamford,

as well as direct rail services to:

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• Leicester,
• Birmingham,
• Peterborough, and
• Cambridge.

The main route for travellers to Leicester by road is first south to Uppingham and then westward along the A47.

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Tourist attractions in Oakham include All Saints' Church and Oakham Castle (only the great hall of the castle remains standing). Traditionally, visitors to the castle brought a horseshoe, which would be hung upside-down: while this is generally held to be unlucky, in Rutland this was thought to stop the Devil from sitting in the hollow. The upside-down horseshoe appears on the county crest and on the local Ruddles beer labels.

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Another popular and historic feature is the open-air market held in the town's market square every Wednesday and Saturday.

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The town is home to Oakham School, a well respected public school.

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Oakham, along with Melton (Leicestershire) and the rest of Rutland, has since 1992 been represented at Westminster by the Conservative Member of Parliament Alan Duncan.

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Oakham: External links ►



 

County town: A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county....

Rutland: :This article is about the county in England. For other articles on subjects named Rutland, see Rutland (disambiguation)....

England: :For an explanation of often confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology)....