Toby & Emma Wedding Pix

08 September 2023

Oakham Castle

 



The arch was where the castle's drawbridge was. It's a level walk from the town in to the castle grounds.



The castle walls and towers have all but gone, but the magnificent original Norman Great Hall survives. It was built  between 1180 and 1190.



Inside walls are covered with 230 ornate ceremonial horseshoes donated by Peers of the Realm (Royalty and nobility such as Dukes, Marquis’, Earls, Viscounts, Barons and Bishops). The exact origin of this custom is lost to the mists of time, but it continues to this day. The oldest surviving horseshoe was given to the Castle by Edward IV in 1470.



The Great Hall is one of the oldest-continuously used courts in the country, having sat as a crown every two years since 1229.


There was a new judge today!


In the market place outside the castle are the unusual five-hole stocks.

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