Catmose House

Catmose House is a municipal facility in Catmose Street in Oakham, Rutland, England. The house, which is the headquarters of Rutland County Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Catmose House
LocationOakham, Rutland
Coordinates52.6683°N 0.7248°W / 52.6683; -0.7248
Built1781
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated21 December 1994
Reference no.1262074
Location of Catmose House in Rutland

History

The house was designed as a hunting lodge known as Catmose Lodge and was completed in 1781.[2] It became the home of Sir Gerard Noel Edwards, MP for Rutland in the early 19th century.[3] It passed to Edwards' son Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough in 1838 and then to Edwards' grandson, the Rt Hon Gerard James Noel, also MP for Rutland, in 1866; Gerard Noel substantially rebuilt the house laid out the gardens as well, in the 1870s.[4][lower-alpha 1] The design of the building, following the rebuilding, involved a main frontage of eight bays facing north east; there were round-headed windows on the ground floor and square windows on the first floor with a pediment containing a clock above.[1][6]

In 1936, following a debate, Rutland County Council chose by 18 votes to 6 votes to leave their previous facilities at Oakham Castle and to acquire Catmose House for use as their new headquarters.[7] Changes were made to the property including the installation of a council chamber in a room with a marble fireplace[1] and the conversion of part of the garden into a car park.[7] Following changes to the layout of the building, the main access was from the south east, through a stone porch with an arched entrance; there was a balustrade above the porch and a window on the first floor.[1]

After implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, when Rutland was reconstituted as a district of Leicestershire, it became the local district headquarters.[8] Then, following the re-incarnation of Rutland County Council in April 1997, it became the headquarters of the new unitary authority.[9] A large extension was built to the north west of the house. When the police station in Station Road was closed, a local police enquiry desk opened in January 2015 in the reception area.[10] The old police station was sold in 2016.[11][12]

Works of art in the building include a painting by Dorothy Snowdon (1921–2014) depicting an osprey.[13]

Notes
  1. Gerard Noel and his wife, Augusta, were closely involved in the local community and, inter alia, hosted fundraising events for the restoration work at St Peter's Church in Brooke which re-opened following the restoration work, which he supervised, in September 1879.[5]

References
  1. Historic England. "Catmose (Rutland District Offices) (1262074)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  2. Gurney, J.; Olney, R (1 December 1997). "Summary report on estate and family papers 12th-20th century of the Noel family, Earls of Gainsborough". Historical Manuscripts Commission. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. Barnes, Djuna (2006). "Collected Poems: With Notes Toward the Memoirs". University of Wisconsin Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0299212346.
  4. Page, William (1935). "'Parishes: Oakham', in A History of the County of Rutland". London: British History Online. pp. 5–27. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  5. "Concert". Leicester Chronicle. 8 September 1877. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  6. "Independent candidate elected in Rutland County Council by-election after tie". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  7. Crowden, Hilary John (2017). "Rutland: the development of a county community within the modern age" (PDF). University of Leicester. p. 249. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  8. "Rutland's History Headlines". BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  9. "Council Chamber, Catmose House". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  10. "Police desk opens at Rutland County Council offices in Oakham". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  11. "Former Police Station for sale in Oakham". APB Property Consultants. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  12. "Changes to Oakham police front enquiry service start today". Belton in Rutland. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  13. Snowdon, Dorothy. "Osprey". Art UK. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
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