Oakham Castle

Oakham Castle is a historic building in Oakham, Rutland. The castle is known for its collection of massive horseshoes and is also recognised as one of the best examples of domestic Norman architecture in England. It is a Grade I listed building. Owned and managed by the Rutland County Council, Oakham Castle is licensed for civil ceremonies. Admission to the castle is free.

The castle was built between 1180 and 1190 by Walkelin de Ferrers, lord of the manor of Oakham, and a great nephew of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby. 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 and are believed to have been made by masons who had also worked at Canterbury Cathedral.

Oakham Castle is one of the longest-running seats of justice in England; a Crown Court has been held in the castle every two years since 1229.

The present gateway into the market place closely resembles the gateways at Burley-on-the-Hill, and is thought to have been erected by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham in the early 17th century.

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it became the meeting place for Rutland County Council and remained as such until the county council moved to Catmose House in 1936.

Time Team, the Channel 4 archaeology series, filmed at Oakham Castle 26–28 June 2012; the programme was shown on 10 February 2013.

The castle was temporarily closed for an extensive restoration of the castle, including the curtain wall. Oakham Castle was awarded a £2.165 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2014 following a joint bid by Rutland County Council, Oakham Town Council and the Friends of Rutland County Museum. The castle reopened on 30 May 2016.

Due to its small size, Oakham Castle does not represent the traditional image of a castle. However, what is now called Oakham Castle was originally the Great Hall of a much larger fortified manor house. This had many of the traditional features of a castle such as a curtain wall, a gatehouse and a drawbridge with iron chains.

Text adapted from “Oakham Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Oakham Castle ranks #2,973 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #195 of the 333 mapped in England. Founded 1180, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 564 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,507 times in the last 60 days, more than 60% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Milton Keynes, 71 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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