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Oakham Castle in Rutland is a captivating place to visit for history lovers in the UK.
Over 300 horseshoes from Royalty and Peers of the Realm hang on the walls. Ancient tradition demands that peers present a horseshoe to the Lord of the Manor on their first visit to the town.
Many of the first horseshoes were nailed to the Castle Gate. Later, the horseshoes became more ornate and were gilded and inscribed with the donor’s name.
In the 1700s, it became the fashion to add a coronet (a small crown) denoting the rank of the donor. The horseshoes are hung with their ends facing downwards as they have been for centuries as depicted on the County Coat of Arms.
The earliest mention of the custom was found in Henry VIII’s State Papers from 1581.
