Oakham Castle Horseshoe

Date: 1470 [unknown]
Location: Oakham Castle, Rutland, England
Surname/tag: York

Horseshoe 1470

Oakham Castle is a historic building in Oakham, Rutland. The Castle is known for its collection of massive horseshoes and is also recognised as one of the best examples of domestic Norman architecture in England.

“But if (unless) he do homage to the castle there in giving an horse shoe, insomuch that many horse shoes be set upon the hall door, some marvelous great and some little, with arms and cognizances; and in the midst of the over end of the hall is an horse shoe with the arms of England, being nigh in breadth a yard, which was commanded thither by King Edward the 4th.”^[1]

This horseshoe of 1470 is the oldest in their collection. It was hung on the walls of the castle following the King's victory at the Battle of Losecoat Field. The lord of the manor at that time was Edward's aunt, Anne de Neville and the horseshoe's presence in her Great Hall served as a symbol of the King's authority. The horseshoe is made from wrought iron, skillfully worked into an elaborate design. What you see today bears little resemblance to the colourful shoe that was presented in 1470. The original was elaborately painted with a row of roses decorating the central band. It is possible that these were white roses, the emblem of the House of York. The shield at the top was also painted with Edward IV's coat of arms.

Image:York-1159.jpg

King Edward IV - Horseshoe as it is today

King Edward IV Horseshoe - Research suggests this is how it looked originally