Brooke, Rutland

Brooke
Brooke is located in Rutland
Brooke
Brooke
Location within Rutland
Area2.25 sq mi (5.8 km2) [1]
Population211 2001 Census[2]
• Density94/sq mi (36/km2)
OS grid referenceSK848057
• London83 miles (134 km) SSE
Unitary authority
Shire county
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townOAKHAM
Postcode districtLE15
Dialling code01572
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Rutland
52°38′N 0°45′W / 52.64°N 0.75°W / 52.64; -0.75

Brooke is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is situated about three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Oakham. The village is near the source of the River Gwash near Braunston-in-Rutland; the river forms part of the parish boundary. From the 2011 census the population is included in the civil parish of Braunston-in-Rutland.

Brooke Reliquary front & right, in Limoges enamel

The parish church is dedicated to St Peter. The church appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.[3]

The small Brooke Priory was founded for Austin Canons, as a cell of St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth, apparently during the third quarter of the 12th century.[4]

No trace of the buildings survive, but there are earthworks and crop marks associated with fishpools or outbuildings. Some of these may date from the English Civil War or the formal gardens of the succeeding Brooke House, itself now gone.[5][6] Some fragments of the original buildings are thought to have been used in the present 16th century house, called Brooke Priory.[7][8]

Octagon lodge of Brooke House, now a dovecote

The land was sold in 1549 to Andrew Noel who built Brooke House, of which only the dovecote and octagon lodge now survives.[9][10] James VI and I stayed at Brooke in August 1612 as a guest of Edward Noel.[11]

Brooke Priory School was founded here in 1989 but moved to Oakham in 1996.[12]

The Brooke Reliquary was discovered in c.1805 in the cellar of Priory House. This small enamelled casket dates from the 13th Century and originates from workshops in Limoges, France. It is now on display at Rutland County Museum.[13]

  1. ^ "A vision of Britain through time". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Rutland Civil Parish Populations" (PDF). Rutland County Council. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  3. ^ "Pride and Prejudice (2005) filming location - Mr Collins' church interior". www.british-film-locations.com.
  4. ^ A History of the County of Rutland (ed. William Page): Volume 2 (1935), pp. 37–40. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  5. ^ Historic England. "Earthworks of Brooke Priory (1054949)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Brooke Priory (Augustinian) (323293)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Brooke Priory (house) (1054983)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  8. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth; Brandwood, Geoffrey K. (1985). Leicestershire and Rutland. The buildings of England. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300096187. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Brooke House (1054983)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  10. ^ Page, William, ed. (1935). "Parishes: Brooke". A History of the County of Rutland: Volume 2. Victoria County History. pp. 37–40. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  11. ^ John Nichols, Progresses of James the First, vol. 2 (London, 1828), p. 457.
  12. ^ "The History of Brooke Priory Independent School in Oakham, Leicestershire". Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  13. ^ "casket". Rutland County Museum. Retrieved 21 April 2022.