Area 1.92 sq mi (5.0 km) OS grid reference TF020100 Ceremonial county Rutland Shire county Rutland Dialling code 01780 UK parliament constituency Rutland and Melton | Population 148 2001 Census Unitary authority Region East Midlands Local time Friday 7:49 AM Post town Stamford | |
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Weather 6°C, Wind NE at 19 km/h, 88% Humidity | ||
Little Casterton is a small village and civil parish in Rutland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 148, increasing to 218 at the 2011 census. It is about two miles (3 km) north of Stamford on a minor road that runs to the south of the River Gwash between Great Casterton and Ryhall.
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Map of Little Casterton, Stamford, UK
The parish church is dedicated to All Saints. The east and west windows are by Christopher Whall and are in memory of former tenants of Tolethorpe Hall. The east window of 1911 depicts St Hubert, Christ in Majesty and St Francis and is in memory of Hubert Francis Christian Harrisson. The west window features St George and dates to 1919.
About half a mile to the north-east is Tolethorpe Hall, a 17th-century mansion. Since 1977, it has been used as the location of an open-air Shakespearean theatre, the Rutland Theatre of the Stamford Shakespeare Company.
The Little Casterton Working Weekend is held in the village each September. Veteran and vintage agricultural machinery is showcased in a working context. Combines, tractors and other equipment demonstrate harvesting, threshing, ploughing and other activities.
The Rutland Dinosaur
In June 1968, the Rutland Dinosaur, a specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Cetiosaurus oxoniensis was found in the Williamson Cliffe quarry in the parish. It was calculated to be around 170 million years old, from the Aalenian or Bajocian part of the Jurassic period. It is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons found in the UK, being fifteen metres long. Since 1975 the remains have been in Leicester's New Walk Museum.