Special ceremony sees University of Leicester celebrate its Rutland roots

The links between the University of Leicester and the county of Rutland were celebrated at a special event held in Lyddington, today (Wednesday 10 June).

The event represented both a commemoration of the University’s origins and a reaffirmation of the enduring relationship between the University and Rutland.

Representatives from the University, local civic leadership and members of the Rutland community assembled in St Andrew’s Church to commemorate former Lyddington resident Dr Astley Clarke, who was one of the University of Leicester’s founding fathers.

Speakers at the event included Dr Sarah Furness, Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, who provided a welcome address, Susannah Fish, High Sheriff of Rutland, and Professor Sir Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester. 

The celebration included speeches and an exhibition featuring items relating to Astley Clarke’s time in Lyddington and Rutland-related audio recordings from the University’s archive.

Attendees were also able to find out more about the Sir Laurence Howard Rutland Scholarship, which offers support for a Rutland student who has gained a place at the University of Leicester. Sir Laurence also spoke at the event, recalling his time as Sub Dean of the University’s Medical School and Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences.

Information was also provided about the University’s ambitious new 2121: Founders of the Future philanthropy campaign, which aims to raise £100m to fund life-changing research and education.

Professor Canagarajah told attendees: “It is especially fitting that we mark Dr Astley Clarke here in Rutland.

“Rutland itself is woven into the University’s earliest identity. The Rutland emblem – a golden horseshoe – is located on the shield within the full University of Leicester coat of arms.

“Our original name, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland College, reminds us that the University was never simply an institution for one city. It was founded with a regional civic mission, and that mission continues.

“We are proud of our relationship with Rutland and its communities. Today continues that story. It is not only a commemoration of our origins. It is a reaffirmation of a relationship that still matters.”

Dr Sarah Furness, Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, said: “I am pleased to honour the indelible connections between Rutland and the great University that is now known as the University of Leicester.

“Our Rutland connections to the University stretch back to its foundation and forwards to the present.

“We have a scholarship programme for Rutland residents, the Sir Laurence Howard Scholarship to help Rutlanders attend the University. We also seek Rutland support to reach into the future through the launch of the University's 2121 campaign. I am proud to call the University of Leicester ‘Rutland's university’ as well as Leicester and Leicestershire's. I hope the university has much support for its 2121 campaign for the future.”

Susannah Fish, High Sheriff of Rutland, who is herself a Leicester MBA graduate, said: “As an alumna of the University of Leicester and as High Sheriff of Rutland, I am honoured to recognise Dr Astley Clarke, a former High Sheriff of Rutland and one of the founding fathers of the University of Leicester.

“The connection between the University and Rutland has been strong since the University’s inception and we take pride that it continues to this day through the Sir Laurence Howard Scholarship. Today has been a powerful restatement of that enduring commitment and of the importance of this relationship for the future.”

Rutland has played an important role in the University’s history since its foundation.

Dr Clarke, an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps was the University’s first benefactor. When the First World War came to an end on 11 November 1918, he donated £100 to establish the ‘Leicester University Fund’ in celebration of peace and for the founding of a university as a memorial. This inspired many local people to do the same over the next few years, in a process which today we would call crowd funding. The University opened in 1921 as the University College of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, reflecting its deep regional roots and civic mission.

Dr Clarke was educated at Oakham School, later retired to his home in Lyddington, and served as High Sheriff of Rutland in 1942.

The event follows a special civic celebration held in Oakham, during the University’s Centenary year of 2022, marking 100 years of partnership and shared history between Rutland and the University. Later that year, University representatives laid three wreaths at Rutland war memorials as part of its Poppy Pilgrimage – an initiative that saw students, staff, local people, and both serving and retired members of the Armed Forces lay 100 poppy wreaths across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland in recognition of the local people who made sacrifices during the First World War.

The University will hold another event in Rutland, on Thursday 1 October, at Harrington School, with an event to promote the 2121 Founders of the Future campaign and the Sir Laurence Howard Rutland Scholarship.