Wing, Rutland

Coordinates: 52°37′12″N 0°40′55″W / 52.620°N 0.682°W / 52.620; -0.682

Wing
Wing's turf maze
Wing  Wing shown within Rutland
Area	1.74 sq mi (4.5 km2) [1]
Population	315 2001 Census[2]
- Density	181 /sq mi (70 /km2)
OS grid reference	SK893033
- London	81 miles (130 km) SSE
Unitary authority	Rutland
Shire county	Rutland
Ceremonial county	Rutland
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OAKHAM
Postcode district	LE15
Dialling code	01572
Police	Leicestershire
Fire	Leicestershire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Rutland and Melton
List of places: UK • England • Rutland

Wing is a small village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.

Architecture

The 17th-century houses in Wing were built from stone quarried at nearby Barnack and Clipsham. Many are roofed with Collyweston stone slate.^[3]

The church, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, was much rebuilt in 1875, at which time the spire was removed. Some parts of the building date from Norman times, including the south arcade of about 1150, the slightly later north arcade and the north doorway.^[4]

Etymology

Its name first occurs as Wenge in the twelfth century, and probably came from Old Norse vengi = "field".

Turf maze

Beside Glaston Road, cut in the turf by the roadside, is a circular "turf maze" (actually a unicursal labyrinth, roughly 40 ft (12 m) in diameter), is said to date back to medieval times, based on the fact that its design is similar to the pavement maze in Chartres cathedral and other medieval examples.

Waterworks

A treatment plant just outside the village treats water extracted from Rutland Water reservoir a few miles to the north. Proposals by Anglian Water to extend the works, and increase the volume of drinking water extracted from the lake, were strongly opposed by the RSPB on the grounds that fluctuating water levels could potentially damage wildfowl habitats around the lake.^[5]

Famous inhabitants

• Francis Meres (1565–1647), churchman and author, became rector of Wing in 1602.
• Sir Charles Vernon Boys, FRS (1855–1944), experimental physicist, was born in Wing.^[6]
• Thomas Smith (judge)

Public houses

• The King's Arms
• The Cuckoo Inn, which closed in 2004. Its name alluded to a local legend that the people of Wing once tried to keep spring in the village forever by erecting a fence around a cuckoo to stop it from leaving. Naturally, it flew over the fence and away. As a result, people from the village were known as "Wing Fools".^[3] This is actually a widespread story, the best-known version probably being one of the adventures of the Wise Men of Gotham.

Buildings and structures

• The Village Hall
• The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

References

1. ^ "A vision of Britain through time". University of Portsmouth. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_AREA_A&u_id=10212157&c_id=10001043&add=Y. Retrieved 21 March 2009. 
2. ^ "Rutland Civil Parish Populations". Rutland County Council. 2001. http://www.rutland.gov.uk/ppimageupload/Image27657.PDF. Retrieved 21 March 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Leicestershire & Rutland Federation of Women's Institutes, ed (1989). The Leicestershire & Rutland Village Book. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1853060564. http://www.kellner.eclipse.co.uk/genuki/RUT/Wing/. Retrieved 11 March 2007. 
4. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus, The Buildings of England - Leicestershire and Rutland
5. ^ "RSPB Central England: Wing water treatment works". RSPB. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930201707/http://www.rspb.org.uk/england/central/cons_action/sites/wing.asp. Retrieved 11 March 2007. 
6. ^ McCarthy, G.J. (28 June 2005). "Boys, Charles Vernon (1855 - 1944)". Bright Sparcs. The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre. http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P000250b.htm. Retrieved 22 March 2009. 

External links

• W.H. Matthews, Mazes and Labyrinths (1922) online version of W.H. Matthew's classic book
• Labyrinthos Jeff Saward's website