Wing, Rutland

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Wing
Rutland

Wing's turf maze
Location
Grid reference: SK893033
Location: 52°37’12"N, -0°40’55"W
Data
Population: 315  (2001)
Post town: Oakham
Postcode: LE15
Dialling code: 01572
Local Government
Council: Rutland
Parliamentary
constituency:
Rutland and Melton

Wing is a small village and parish in the county of Rutland. The population at the 2001 census was 315, reducing marginally to 314 at the 2011 census.[1]

Architecture

The 17th-century houses in Wing were built from stone quarried at nearby Barnack and Clipsham. Many are roofed with Collyweston stone slate.[2]

The church, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, was much rebuilt in 1875, at which time the spire was removed. Some parts of the building date from Norman times, including the south arcade of about 1150, the slightly later north arcade and the north doorway.[3]

Etymology

Its name first occurs as Wenge in the 12th century, and probably came from Old Norse vengi = "field".

Turf maze

Beside Glaston Road, cut in the turf by the roadside, is a circular "turf maze" (actually a unicursal labyrinth, roughly 40 ft in diameter), is said to date back to mediæval times, based on the fact that its design is similar to the pavement maze in Chartres cathedral and other mediæval examples.

Waterworks

A treatment plant just outside the village treats water extracted from Rutland Water reservoir a few miles to the north. Proposals to extend the works, and increase the volume of drinking water extracted from the lake, were strongly opposed by the RSPB on the grounds that fluctuating water levels could potentially damage wildfowl habitats around the lake.[4]

Public houses

  • The King's Arms
  • The Cuckoo Inn, which closed in 2004. Its name alluded to a local legend that the people of Wing once tried to keep spring in the village forever by erecting a fence around a cuckoo to stop it from leaving. Naturally, it flew over the fence and away. As a result, people from the village were known as "Wing Fools".[2] This is actually a widespread story, the best-known version probably being one of the adventures of the Wise Men of Gotham.

Buildings and structures

  • Village Hall[5]
  • Church of St Peter and St Paul[6]

Notable people

  • Francis Meres (1565–1647), churchman and author, became rector of Wing in 1602.
  • Sir Charles Vernon Boys, FRS (1855–1944), experimental physicist, was born in Wing.[7]
  • Sir Thomas Smith (1556?–1609), Judge
  • Sir Clive Loader, Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire.[8]

References

  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130731&c=Wing&d=16&e=62&g=6384758&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1466950309281&enc=1. Retrieved 26 June 2016. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Leicestershire & Rutland Federation of Women's Institutes, ed (1989). The Leicestershire & Rutland Village Book. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-85306-056-4. http://www.kellner.eclipse.co.uk/genuki/RUT/Wing/. Retrieved 11 March 2007. 
  3. Pevsner, Nikolaus, The Buildings of England - Leicestershire and Rutland
  4. "RSPB Central England: Wing water treatment works". RSPB. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930201707/http://www.rspb.org.uk/england/central/cons_action/sites/wing.asp. Retrieved 11 March 2007. 
  5. "The Village Hall". 27 September 2015. https://wingrutland.uk/vh-description/. Retrieved 26 June 2016. 
  6. "Rutland Water Benefice - Wing". http://www.rutlandwaterbenefice.info/wing/. Retrieved 26 June 2016. 
  7. McCarthy, G.J. (28 June 2005). "Boys, Charles Vernon (1855 - 1944)". Bright Sparcs. The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre. http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P000250b.htm. Retrieved 22 March 2009. 
  8. "Sir Clive Loader is ready to start new police role". http://www.rutland-times.co.uk/news/crime/sir-clive-loader-is-ready-to-start-new-police-role-1-4509151. Retrieved 26 June 2016. 

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Wing, Rutland)