63/99/2

This is a heavily corroded but complete Saxon horseshoe which possibly dates from the eleventh century. It has very thin heels and six nail holes. It was found in 1946 by Harold Mair at Littlebrook in the Dartford and Stone Marshes in Kent. It is part of a large collection of horseshoes found by Mr Mair in the Marshes between 1942 and 1948.

1 horseshoe: metal

MERL Miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 13 February 2013 – The Harold Mair Collection consists of 272 horseshoes dating from the 10th century to the 20th century. They were found by Harold Mair between 1942 and 1948 at Littlebrook in the Dartford and Stone Marshes in Kent. Mr Mair built up the collection from finds around some re-discovered Saxon tide-walls adjoining an ancient causeway across the marshes. All of the horseshoes, with the exception of six, came from six acres of the enclosure, which had apparently been used as a grazing ground for horses for many centuries. Before his death in 1962, Mr Mair had substantially completed, in manuscript form, a book about his collection, ‘Thames-side Horseshoes from the Dartford and Stone Marshes, Kent’. The collection was shown as a whole at the Marshfield Show, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1961. MERL has saved Mr Mair’s original labels, although some are missing., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – 'Recorder: SK // Date: 3.7.80 // Description: A heavily corroded but complete horseshoe with very thin heels and six nail holes. // Dimensions: 4 1/4” x 4 1/4” // Associated information: The original labels have been saved though a few are missing. // A possibly 11th century horseshoe found at Littlebrook in 1946 (see 63/99/1 for further details. “Some time before the arrival of the Normans the Saxons appear to have discarded the practice of punching a deep, elongated nail-head pit in horse-shoes and, by introducing smaller nails and making suitable holes to take them, corrected the sinuous outline fault of very long standing.” // References: H. Mair, “Thames-side Horseshoes”, p6., Harold Mair, 'Thames-side Horseshoes from the Dartford and Stone Marshes, Kent', p. 6., Harold Mair Label – ‘2 // Saxon // Tide-walls // 1946 // Littlebrook // 11th Cent? // 4 1/4” x 4 1/4” // 3oz’

1000-01-01 - 1099-12-31

Eleventh century

Mair, Gordon (Agent)
Annable, F. K. (Agent)