Rutland County Museum

Rutland County Museum stands in Oakham beside the old Riding School of the Rutland Fencible Cavalry, built between 1794 and 1795. The building once served the local cavalry and later became a museum in 1969. It holds objects that tell the story of rural and agricultural life in Rutland. There are also displays on social history and archaeology, alongside temporary exhibitions. The museum’s collections began with items transferred from Casterton Secondary Modern School and Oakham School in 1967. Among the most striking items is the New Drop Gallows, thought to be the only surviving portable gallows of its kind in the UK. It was first used in 1813 to hang two burglars outside Oakham Gaol. The gallows were built from Baltic pine and designed with a drop too short to break a neck cleanly. Another notable piece is one of the oldest surviving box wagons in the country, built in Lincolnshire between 1755 and 1795. The Brooke Reliquary, a 13th-century enamelled casket from Limoges, holds relics of a saint and features intricate enamel work in blue, red, yellow and green. The museum also hosts the Local Studies Collection, moved from Oakham Library in 2010. This includes census records, village photographs, postcards, Ordnance Survey maps and local newspapers. Visitors can explore reference books and access ancestry records through the library edition. The building itself, with its high ceilings and original features, adds to the sense of stepping into Rutland’s past. Temporary exhibitions often highlight different aspects of the county’s history. The museum offers a quiet space to reflect on rural traditions and local heritage.