Oakham Castle is a historic building in

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. The Castle is known for its collection of massive

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...

s and is also recognised as one of the best examples of domestic

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used fo ...

in England. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Owned and managed by the

Rutland County Council Rutland County Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The current council was created in April 1997. The population of the council's area at the 2011 census was 37,369. As a unitary ...

, Oakham Castle is licensed for civil ceremonies. Admission to the castle is free.

History

The Castle was built between 1180 and 1190 by Walkelin de Ferrers,

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Oakham, and a great nephew of

Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby Robert I de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby ( 1068 – 1139) was born in Derbyshire, England, a younger son of Henry de Ferrières and his wife Bertha (perhaps l'Aigle). His father, born in Ferrières, Normandy, France accompanied William the Conqu ...

. The Great Hall comprises a nave and two arcaded aisles, each with three large stone columns. There are a number of 12th-century sculptures decorating the Hall including six musicians that are supported by the columns. The sculptures are carved from local stone quarried at

Clipsham Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing ...

and are believed to have been made by masons who had also worked at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. Oakham Castle is one of the longest-running seats of justice in England; a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

has been held in the castle every two years since 1229. The present gateway into the market place closely resembles the gateways at Burley-on-the-Hill, and is thought to have been erected by

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...

in the early 17th century. Following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, which established county councils in every county, it became the meeting place for

and remained as such until the County Council moved to

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. History The house was designed as a hunting lodge known as Cat ...

in 1936. ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

'', the Channel 4 archaeology series, filmed at Oakham Castle 26–28 June 2012; the programme was shown on 10 February 2013. The Castle was temporarily closed for an extensive restoration of the Castle, including the curtain wall. Oakham Castle was awarded a £2.165 million grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

in 2014 following a joint bid by Rutland County Council, Oakham Town Council and the Friends of Rutland County Museum. The castle reopened on 30 May 2016.

Description

Due to its small size, Oakham Castle does not represent the traditional image of a castle. However, what is now called Oakham Castle was originally the Great Hall of a much larger fortified manor house. This had many of the traditional features of a castle such as a curtain wall, a gatehouse and a drawbridge with iron chains. There is also historical and archaeological evidence to suggest that Oakham Castle possessed towers at strategic points along the walls as well as a moat. An illustration in ''Mediaeval England'' edited by H. W. C. Davis suggests that the doorway shown to be in the centre of the wall was originally where the window at the end on the right now is. Also, there are no dormer windows in the illustration.

The Horseshoes

There remains a unique tradition that

peers of the realm A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...

should forfeit a horseshoe to the Lord of the Manor of Oakham on their first visit to the town. Two hundred and thirty horseshoes currently decorate the walls of Oakham Castle. It is thought that this tradition is linked to the de Ferrers' family name; ''Ferrier'' was the

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

word for

farrier A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjus ...

and the horseshoe has been a symbol of the de Ferrers family since

Henry de Ferrers Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England. Origins He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's ...

arrived in England in 1066. A horseshoe, orientated in accordance with county custom as the horseshoes are hung in the Castle, is used as a symbol of the county of Rutland and appears on the arms of the county council and on the

flag of Rutland The Flag of Rutland is the flag of the English county of Rutland. It was registered with the Flag Institute on 17 November 2015. __TOC__ History The flag is a banner of the arms of Rutland County Council, which were granted to the council in 1 ...

. The oldest surviving horseshoe in the collection is one that was presented by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

in 1470 after his victory at the

Battle of Losecoat Field The Battle of Losecoat Field (also known as the Battle of Empingham) was fought on 12 March 1470, during the Wars of the Roses. Spellings of "Losecoat" vary, with "Losecote" and "Loose-coat" also seen. The battle secured the defeat of the poor ...

. Recent additions to the collection are horseshoes presented by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a United Kingdom, British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of th ...

in 1999, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in 2003, Princess Alexandra in 2005 and the

Duchess of Cornwall Duchess of Cornwall is a courtesy title held by the wife of the eldest son and heir of the British monarch. The current title-holder is Catherine, wife of William, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. Duchesses of Cornwall Until her husband' ...

in 2014.

References

External links

Rutland County Council: Oakham castle website

Oakham Castle restoration project

Official Website of Oakham Castle
* {{Authority control Grade I listed buildings in Rutland Historic house museums in Rutland Oakham

History

Description

The Horseshoes

References

Further reading

External links