The name of Ketton is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Chetene. The form Ketene first appears in 1174, and Keton in 1322. The origin of this name is uncertain, though scholars agree that the last element came during the history of the name's use to be thought of as the common place-name element deriving from Old Englishtūn ("estate"). Eilert Ekwall was confident that the vowel at the end of the early spellings represented the Old English word ēa ("river"), and that the name originated as an earlier name for the River Chater.[3] One suggestion for the earlier part of the name is that it contains an otherwise unattested Old Englishpersonal name *Ceta in the genitive form *Cetan, in which case it once meant "Ceta's river". An alternative explanation for the first syllable is that it is the Common Brittonic word found in modern Welsh as coed ("woodland"). Ekwall thought that this might have been a regional name that gave rise to a noun *Cēte ("the people of Cet"); in its genitive form this could have produced *Cētena-ēa ("the river of the people of Cet"). A further suggestion on these lines is that the second syllable originated as the word found in Welsh as hen ("old"), in which case the name once meant "old wood", later giving its name to a river.[4][5][6]: 326 [7]
Village
The village was originally three separate settlements: Ketton, Aldgate and Geeston; but as they grew they merged to form the village that Ketton is today.
The village has a post office and general store, a library, two pubs (the Railway Inn and the Northwick Arms), a sports centre, a playschool and a Church of England primary school which in 2021/2022 had 185 pupils on its roll.[8][9]
The village has two churches (Church of England and Methodist). The earliest parts of St Mary's Church, the grade I listed[10]Church of England parish church, are 12th century. The church has a central tower and spire. The west front is an example of late 12th century transitional architecture and the remainder of the church is mainly 13th century. The nave was restored under the direction of George Gilbert Scott in 1861–62 and the chancel under the direction of his pupil Thomas Graham Jackson in 1863–66. Jackson's chancel roof was painted by Ninian Comper in 1950. The stone is from Barnack. There are Ketton headstones in the churchyard; one by the lychgate depicts mason's tools and is by stonemason William Hibbins of Ketton. William Hibbins built Hibbins House, which is still standing today. The spire is 144 feet (44 metres) high.[11] The Methodist chapel was refurbished in 2013 but dates back some 150 years.[12][13]
The limestone is used to make cement. Ketton Cement Works opened in 1928 and by November that year the number of staff had risen to 250. The plant, owned by Hanson Cement (now part of HeidelbergCement), meets more than 10% of the UK demand for cement.
In 2013 Rutland County Council approved plans for Lark Energy to build a solar farm on land reclaimed from a 1940s quarry. The solar farm provides 13% of the cement works' annual energy consumption. The second phase was opened in 2015 by Secretary of State for Energy Amber Rudd.[16]
Wind energy in Ketton
In 2004 Rutland County Council planning committee resolved to approve a planning application for one wind turbine on land adjacent to the cement works off Steadfold Lane in Ketton. However, issues surrounding fast jets flying from RAF Cottesmore meant that a planning permission was never granted.
In 2011 REG Windpower announced plans to install two wind turbines near Steadfold Lane. The proposal was withdrawn in August 2012.[17]
^Watts, Victor, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521168557., s.v. Ketton.
^Coates, Richard; Breeze, Andrew (2000). Celtic Voices, English Places: Studies of the Celtic Impact on Place-Names in Britain. Stamford: Tyas. ISBN1900289415..
^Mills, A. D. (2011). A dictionary of British place-names. Oxford paperback reference (1st ed. rev ed.). Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-960908-6., p. 267.
^"Home page". Ketton C of E Primary School. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
^Flannery, Julian (2016). Fifty English Steeples: The Finest Medieval Parish Church Towers and Spires in England. New York City, New York, United States: Thames and Hudson. pp. 152–159. ISBN978-0-500-34314-2.
