Know Your Midlands No. 13

A look around some of the high spots of England's smallest county.

There are only two towns in Rutland and, not surprisingly, both feature in this short silent travelogue of the county. Uppingham, with its historic public school (from which Stephen Fry was once expelled), is at the start and Oakham, with its ancient Buttercross and wooden stocks, towards the end. Elsewhere we see the ancient turf maze at Wing and visit churches and bucolic villages that await discovery by the traveller who, in 1957, could enjoy wonderfully empty roads.

Despite a tenacious battle to retain its independence Rutland was absorbed into Leicestershire in 1974. The county did however return in 1997 following a recommendation by the Local Government Commission for England. The county's biggest landmark, the reservoir at Empingham known as Rutland Water, had not yet been built when this short filler produced for ATV by Birmingham Commercial Films was shot.