Whitwell, Rutland

Whitwell

St Michael and All Angels Church
Whitwell
 Whitwell shown within Rutland
Area  0.98 sq mi (2.5 km2) [1]
Population 41 2001 Census[2]
    density  42/sq mi (16/km2)
OS grid referenceSK923088
    London  84 miles (135 km) SSE 
Unitary authorityRutland
Shire countyRutland
Ceremonial countyRutland
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town OAKHAM
Postcode district LE15
Dialling code 01572
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentRutland and Melton
List of places
UK
England
Rutland

Coordinates: 52°40′12″N 0°38′10″W / 52.670°N 0.636°W

Whitwell is a village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.

The Great Tower sculpture on the shore of Rutland Water

It is located on the A606, about four miles (6 km) east of Oakham, on the north shore of Rutland Water with car parking off Bull Brig Lane. Whitwell Harbour is a popular sailing and water sports area and a pleasure boat known as the Rutland Belle operates from the harbour. Whitwell is one of the smallest villages in Rutland; it only has 19 houses, plus The Noel pub.

Whitwell claims to be twinned with Paris, France. In 1980, regulars from the pub, the Noel Arms wrote to the then Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac proposing the link and with a tight deadline for a response. As no answer arrived from the Mayor's office by the set date, the village unilaterally declared itself to be twinned and erected road signs to that effect.[3][4] The original wooden signs were later replaced in metal by Rutland County Council.


References

  1. "A vision of Britain through time". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  2. "Rutland Civil Parish Populations" (PDF). Rutland County Council. 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  3. Story of how Whitwell came to be twinned with Paris, as told to Parliament by local MP Alan Duncan in 1992. (Scroll down to bottom of "Column 1137")
  4. A column from the Guardian, 19 April 2003, mentioning how Whitwell became twinned with Paris. (about 2/3 of the way down)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whitwell, Rutland.

A 1980 regional news report from ATV on the twinning celebrations