County of Rutland

Rutland from Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary. 1860

Rutland is often referred to as England’s smallest county. It was created as County Council in 1889 but this ended in 1974 when it became, under local government reorganisation, a district council of Leicestershire. The move wasn’t popular and it became its own unitary authority again in 1997, with the new council adopting the name Rutland County Council.

Historically it does not appear to be a county, as such, at the time of the Domesday Book but features as a detached part of another county and was often referred to in later times as the Soke of Rutland.

Census returns for Rutland show quite a number of entries for CULPIN, which is quite a concentration given its geographical size.

Distribution of Culpin Families 1851. map adapted from 1840 J.Archer for Dugdales “England and Wales Delineated

Culpin families in Rutland in 1851 were geographically close to other Culpin family groupings of the early 1800s, in North Northampton, and South West LIncolnshire.

Census Returns

The following cover the entire county for the year shown.

Populations

Population of the County of Rutland taken from census