The Rutland Local History & Record Society has just released the forty-third issue of its annual journal, Rutland Record.

The journal is free to the Society's members, or can be purchased at local venues by Rutland residents keen to learn more about England's smallest county.

The new edition begins with an article by the Society's Honorary Editor, Tim Clough, who describes the 22 tokens issued by Rutland tradesmen in the mid-seventeenth century amid a shortage of short change. For a period of about 25 years these tokens became an unofficial alternative across local villages.

Tim was inspired to write this article following the discovery of several local tokens which have been recorded for the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Amongst the people who issued them were John Homes of Langham, a tallow chandler whose farthing token is dated 1658. Amazingly, Langham still has a connection with the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers which makes an annual charitable donation to support people in need in the parish.

Another man who issued tokens was Thomas Hunt of North Luffenham, who belonged to one of the more important families in the village, who died in 1674. Parish registers record that his three children, aged 4, 6 and 8 died soon after when their house was burned down.

A happier story concerns Richard Matthew and John Potterill of Oakham, who jointly issued a halfpenny token in the late 1660s. They were prosperous apothecaries, and had intriguing connections with the Flamsteed family from Derbyshire, one of whom was John Flamsteed, the astronomer royal.

The society hope that research will enable the premises of some of these token issuers to be identified, including Samuel Reeve's Bell Inn which must have been in Oakham's High Street close to Matthew's and Potterill's properties. Can you join the hunt?

Oakham High Street, Rutland, is home to a number of historic buildings. Image credit: Nub News.

The second article in this year's issue tells the story of Francis Davis, a man from Morcott who was born in 1775 and grew up to serve first with Sir Gerard Noel's Rutland Fencible Cavalry, based in Oakham, and then joined the 18th Light Dragoons in 1800. He would soon take part in England's wars with revolutionary France. Tony Martin, a member of the Society's committee with an interest in militaria, follows Davis's career through the challenging conditions of the Peninsular War, including the battles of Sahagún and Benavente in 1808.

Francis Davis fought in Toulouse in 1814, before returning to Morcott, marring and having three children. He and his wife Rebecca are buried at nearby Pilton. Just before his death in 1848, he was granted the Military General Service Medal instituted by Queen Victoria, and it was the discovery of this medal which led Tony Martin – himself born in Morcott – to write this article, and to wonder whether, in the end, Francis Davis lived long enough to see the medal he had earned.

The 43rd Rutland Record details the lives of local people from across the decades - and centuries. Image credit: Wiki Commons.

The third article, by Peter Flower, recalls how the author's grandfather Reginald Grove, a boy at Uppingham School in the mid-1880s, became interested in monumental brasses and taking rubbings of them.

He kept a diary in which he recorded his visits to local churches, undertaken during free time with the encouragement of the headmaster, Edward Thring. The author has followed in Reginald's footsteps, visiting the same churches – some of which have changed following Victorian restoration – and making a photographic record of the brasses which survive today. His article is illustrated with images of the brasses at Braunston, Little Casterton, Lyddington, Manton and Stockerston. His grandfather wrote an article for the school magazine, which is reproduced in full, and continued his interest in monumental brasses when he went on to Cambridge University.

Many local establishements and businesses can be found in this year's Rutland Record. Image credit: Google Maps.

Finally, as usual, Rutland Record closes with reports of work carried out by record offices and local societies with an interest in the history and archaeology of the county locally during the preceding year. This section includes details of finds recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Rutland in 2022 such as a lovely little lead-alloy bird mount, but also an update on the wonderful Roman mosaic uncovered at a villa site near Ketton which has attracted interest nationwide.

The Society's Chair, Debbie Frearson, said: "Once again, we are so grateful for the expertise of our contributors and their special interest in Rutland's long and varied history. Rutland Record is free to members, and we encourage anyone and everyone with an interest of Rutland's past to join us: full information about membership, our other publications and our activities, including our meetings, will be found on our website."

Copies of the new publication can be bought at the Rutland Local History & Record Society at the Rutland County Museum for £5, via local bookshops, or online by searching ISBN-13: 978-0-907464-66-2.

Email [email protected] to find out more about the work of the society and how you can get involved in 2024.