Oakham Castle is located in Oakham

Oakham

-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...

, Rutland

Rutland

Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....

. It was constructed between 1180 and 1190, in the reign of Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 for Walchelin de Ferriers

Walchelin de Ferriers

Walchelin de Ferrieres was a Norman baron and principal captain of Richard I of England.The Ferriers family hailed from the southern marches of Normandy and had previously protected the duchy from the hostility of the counts of Maine and Anjou...

, Lord of the Manor of Oakham. The Castle is well known for its collection of massive horseshoe

Horseshoe

A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...

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

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 in England.

General Information

Oakham Castle does not represent the traditional image of a castle due to its small size. The Great Hall is all that remains of an early medieval fortified manor house. It did, however, have 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.

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

Clipsham is a village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.The village is well-known for its limestone quarries. Clipsham stone, part of the Upper Lincolnshire Limestone Formation, can be found in many of Britain's most famous buildings including King's College Chapel , the...

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

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....

.

The Horseshoes

There remains a unique tradition that peers of the realm 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 word for farrier

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...

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

Henry de Ferrers

Henry de Ferrers was a Norman soldier from a noble family who took part in the conquest of England and is believed to have fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with much land in the subdued nation.His elder brother William fell in the battle. William and Henri...

 arrived in England in 1066.

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

Edward IV of England

Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...

 in 1470 after his victory at the Battle of Losecoat Field. The newest addition to the collection is the horseshoe presented by Princess Alexandra

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy is the youngest granddaughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy...

 in 2005.

Oakham Castle is owned and managed by Rutland County Council

Rutland County Council

Rutland County Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the historic county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The current Council was created in April 1997....

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

Civil ceremony

A civil registrar ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the UK, this person is normally called a registrar...

.