IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
St. Albans Close, OAKHAM, LE15 6EW

Lodge Gardens during a mini-blizzard.

The footpath zigzags through an area of large detached houses. No cycling!

The splendid Great Hall of Oakham Castle is one of the finest examples of late 12th century domestic architecture in England. It was built by Walkelin de Ferrers, a Norman baron, in about 1180-90. The remains of other parts of this fortified manor house lie beneath the grass of the inner bailey. It was surrounded by earthen banks and stone walls which had at least two towers. To the north were gardens and fishponds. The hall possesses a range of 12th century figure sculpture. Above the capitals of its fine columns there are six musicians, each playing a different instrument. Although damaged, they are of superb quality. Almost certainly, the stonework was carved by masons who had worked at Canterbury Cathedral. They used local stone from Clipsham. The castle was the residence of the lord of the manor of Oakham. Sometimes the king held the manor himself and visited the castle. By the early 16th century many of the buildings were ruinous. However the Great Hall continued in use as a courtroom, the hub of both the manor of Oakham and County of Rutland. Assize courts were held here until 1970. Today, occasional Crown Courts and Coroner's Inquests still take place. Over 200 horseshoes hang on the walls of the castle. These represent the unique custom that every peer of the realm, on their first visit to Oakham, must forfeit a horseshoe to the lord of the manor. The custom has been followed for at least 500 years, and it probably originated soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The oldest surviving horseshoe is probably the large elaborately wrought horseshoe headed by a plain shield put up by Edward IV in about 1470. The most recent were given by Lord Lane, then Lord Chief Justice, in 1981, by the Earl Ferrers in 1997, by HRH The Princess Royal in 1999, by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2003 and by HRH Princess Alexandra 2005.

The assumption has to be that it was the lodge to Oakham Castle. The site has been developed for housing.

This is taken looking south along the 'old' A606 in the centre of Oakham. The sign in the distance for the roundabout states that Stamford is to the left along the A606, and Uppingham and Kettering are straight on, along the A6003.

The fairy roundabout at the point where Stamford Road joins Catmos Road

This may not be the original position as old maps do not mark a pump here.