England · Restored
Oakham Castle
Oakham Castle is a medieval site in the town of Oakham, Rutland, notable for its surviving medieval Great Hall building. The long, single-storey stone hall stands on a broad town green beside the parish church and has been preserved and maintained into the present day.
Its prime
1190
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1190
What Oakham Castle looked like in its prime.
A long, rectangular medieval stone hall of warm golden-brown limestone with a very steep pitched roof clad in stone tiles; the long south façade has a central arched doorway set within a shallow porch and several paired narrow windows, plus three small dormer windows set into the roof. The east gable end is tall and plain with a single tall, narrow gable window near the apex and buttressed lower walls. The hall sits directly beside a church spire and faces a broad grassed town green.
Its story
The story of Oakham Castle.
Walkelin de Ferrers and the Great Hall, 1180–1190
Oakham Castle began not as a keep but as a fortified manor house, built between 1180 and 1190 by Walkelin de Ferrers, lord of the manor of Oakham and great-nephew of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby. What survives today is the manor's great hall alone, but the complex once had many of the features of a castle: a curtain wall, a gatehouse, a drawbridge hung on iron chains, and — supported by archaeological and historical evidence — towers at intervals along the walls and a moat.
Inside, the hall is built as a nave flanked by two arcaded aisles, each carried on three large stone columns, and is recognised as one of the best examples of domestic Norman architecture in England. Its twelfth-century carvings, cut from stone quarried at Clipsham and including six musicians supported by the columns, are believed to be the work of masons who had also worked at Canterbury Cathedral.
The Horseshoe Tribute
A unique custom survives at Oakham: any peer of the realm visiting the town for the first time must forfeit a horseshoe to the Lord of the Manor, and two hundred and thirty now hang on the hall's walls. The tradition is thought to be linked to the de Ferrers name itself — ferrier was the Norman French word for farrier, and the horseshoe has been the family's badge since Henry de Ferrers arrived in England in 1066. Hung in the orientation set by county custom, the same horseshoe became the emblem of Rutland, appearing on the arms of the county council and on the county flag.
The oldest surviving horseshoe was presented by Edward IV in 1470, after his victory at the Battle of Losecoat Field. More recent tributes include horseshoes from the Princess Royal in 1999, the Prince of Wales in 2003, Princess Alexandra in 2005, the Duchess of Cornwall in 2014, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in 2024.
Nearly Eight Centuries of Justice
Oakham is one of the longest-running seats of justice in England: a Crown Court has convened in the castle every two years since 1229. The gateway leading into the market place, which closely resembles the gateways at Burley-on-the-Hill, is thought to have been erected by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, in the early 17th century.
After the Local Government Act 1888 created county councils, the hall became the meeting place of Rutland County Council, a role it kept until the council moved to Catmose House in 1936.
Restoration and Reopening, 2014–2016
Channel 4's archaeology series Time Team filmed at the castle over three days in June 2012, in an episode broadcast the following February. The castle then closed for an extensive restoration that included the curtain wall, funded by a £2.165 million grant awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2014 to a joint bid from Rutland County Council, Oakham Town Council and the Friends of Rutland County Museum; it reopened on 30 May 2016. The hall is now owned and managed by Rutland County Council, a Grade I listed building licensed for civil ceremonies, with free admission.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1190.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Oakham Castle, including 1 interior: great hall interior (through doorway). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Oakham Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Oakham Castle.
The families that held Oakham Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Ferrers
Built 1180–90 by Walkelin de Ferrers, lord of the manor of Oakham; the horseshoe has been the family's symbol since 1066.
From the archive
Oakham Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
OAKHAM
1897 · J. D. Mackenzie, The Castles of England, vol. 1 (1897)
Public domain
OAKHAM
1897 · J. D. Mackenzie, The Castles of England, vol. 1 (1897)
Public domain
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