Gunthorpe is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 and a hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 in the county of Rutland

Rutland

Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....

 in the East Midlands

East Midlands

The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...

 of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The population of Gunthorpe grew to several hundred before being devastated by the plague

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

 which ravaged Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and much of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 from 1347 to 1351. Today, Gunthorpe remains as one of Rutland's smallest inhabited hamlets, with just 10 houses and 16 residents. Despite being dissected by the railway and the main Oakham

Oakham

-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...

 to Uppingham

Uppingham

Disambiguation: "Uppingham" is the colloquial name for Uppingham SchoolUppingham is a market town in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, located on the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, about 6 miles south of the county town, Oakham.- History :A little over a mile to the...

 A6003 road, the tiny hamlet of Gunthorpe remains a lively idyll, which typifies the agricultural heart of the county of Rutland. Set in the rolling hills adjoining the River Gwash

River Gwash

The River Gwash, a tributary of the River Welland, flows through the English counties of Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire. It rises just outside the village of Knossington in Leicestershire, near the western edge of Rutland...

, approximately 2½ miles south of Oakham and on the western shores of Rutland Water

Rutland Water

Rutland Water is Anglian Water's drinking water reservoir in the county of Rutland, England, just east of the county town Oakham. It was known as Empingham Reservoir during its construction and until its official opening in 1976. The centre of its dam is at British national grid reference...

, Gunthorpe has several footpaths and bridleways which offer some of the County's most enjoyable, all-year round views.

The estate was sold by the Earl of Ancaster

Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster

Sir Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 6th Baronet, 1st Earl of Ancaster PC , known as 2nd Baron Aveland from 1867 to 1888 and as 25th Baron Willoughby de Eresby from 1888 to 1892, was a British Liberal politician and court official.Born Gilbert Henry Heathcote, he was the son of Gilbert...

 to Charles Harvey Dixon

Charles Harvey Dixon

Charles Harvey Dixon , was a British Conservative Party politician.Born at Watlington, Oxfordshire, he was the son of Dr Henry Dixon, coroner for South Oxfordshire....

 in 1906.

Gunthorpe's oldest surviving building was built circa 1840. Now a farmhouse, the Durham Ox

Durham Ox

The Durham Ox was a castrated bull which became famous in the early 19th century for its shape, size and weight. It was an early example of what became the Shorthorn breed of cattle, and helped establish the standards by which the breed was to be defined....

 Inn was a popular haunt of the navvies and labourers engaged in the construction of part of the railway which became known as the London Midland and Scottish Railway, running between Kettering

Kettering

Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...

and Oakham from the mid 19th Century and to this day.