1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Oakham

OAKHAM, a market town, and the county town of Rutland, England, 94 m. N. by W. of London by the Midland railway. Pop. (1901) 3294. The church of All Saints ranges in style from Early English to Perpendicular, belonging in appearance mainly to the latter style. Of Oakham Castle, founded in the reign of Henry II., the principal remnant is the notable Norman hall, used as the county hall. The manor came in the time of Henry II. into the hands of Walcheline de Ferrers, and subsequently passed, through many owners, to the duchy of Buckingham, whence it descended to the earl; of Winchelsea. A peculiar custom attaching to the manor is to claim a horseshoe from every peer who, for the first time, passes through the town. Flore's House in the main street is an interesting building dating from the 13th century. Oakham school was endowed as a grammar school by Robert Johnson, archdeacon of Leicester, in 1584; it now has classical and modern sides. Not far from the town are the kennels of the Cottesmore hunt.