Langham Parish Church

Langham Parish Council in Rutland


The next meeting of Langham Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 26th November 2024 at 7:30pm in the Village Hall (Ruddle Room). All are welcome to attend. Members of the public may speak on any item on the agenda before the meeting begins.

Langham Neighbourhood Plan 2022

The Langham Neighbourhood Plan 2022 and all supporting documents can be downloaded HERE

Welcome to the Parish Council website for Langham, in the smallest county in England, Rutland, and not to be confused with at least 6 other Langham villages around the country.

Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Langham VillageLangham Parish is just north of Oakham, Rutland’s county town, and covers a predominantly farming area of approximately 1182 hectares (2920 acres) extending 3.4 miles west to east and 2.3 miles north to south. It has a population of just over 1400 who generally live in the village of Langham or in a smaller residential community on the eastern edge of the Parish built on what used to be the kennels of the famous Cottesmore Hunt.

The entire village of Langham and part of its surrounding area is a Conservation Area. It has 40 listed buildings including St Peter and St Paul’s Church of England (Grade 1) and the Old Hall (Grade I 2). There are numerous other structures throughout Langham that are listed and also some important ancient hedgerows, bridleways and trees throughout the parish. The earliest reference to Langham was in 1398 when it had its own Manorial Court but the building of the parish church began earlier in the 13th century. The parish was part of the Gainsborough Estate until 1926. Thanks to Langham Village History Group much of the history of Langham is well known and published (www.langhaminRutland.org.uk).

Hogweard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In early 2018 the Langham Neighbour Plan was ‘made’ and in autumn of he same year the Langham Neighbourhood Plan won a Leicestershire and Rutland Rural Community Council Award that recognised the breadth and depth of our parish and whole community’s commitment and involvement in developing and owning an ambitious, well evidenced Plan. It provides the tools (Policies, Proposals and Community Actions) to safeguard the best in our village and parish and to guide developments and projects to enhance the quality of our environment and lives in Langham.

The Parish Church (www.oakhamteam.uk) can be found at the centre of Langham village together with a busy Village Hall (www.langhamvillagehall.org) hosting many activities and a post office once a week. The village also has a Baptist Chapel, a Primary School (www.langhamprimary.co.uk) and popular pub (www.thewheatsheaf-langham.co.uk). Just to the north east of the village you will find Rutland Polo Club (www.rutlandpoloclub.co.uk) and on an area of parish land, allotments, a children’s play area, a playing field, the parish burial ground and a Pocket Wildlife Park where woodland and picnic areas are maintained by volunteers.

Langham Parish Council was formed under the Local Government Act of 1894 and Minute Books indicate that some matters have been exercising the minds of councillors from the very beginning to the present day - overgrown shrubbery; the state of the brook (which runs through the middle of the village); council expenditure! In 1899 our Parish Council expenditure was £6 2s 0d, In 1990 it was £4,000 and, more recently, £33,000 in 2024, which is the equivalent of £195 in 1899. To explain this one hundred and seventy fold increase, in 1899, we had no street lights, no piped water or sewage, roads were unpaved, grass cutting was carried out by residents, the church provide burial plots and allotments were privately owned. The current responsibilities of the 9 elected councillors representing parishioners on Langham Parish Council are shown under the Your Councillors tab.