Object number
52/378
Description
This oxshoe originates from Speen Moor, Newbury. It is not known how old it is, but ox ploughing and ox teams remained in use in parts of Berkshire until well into the nineteenth century.
Physical description
Ox shoe; metal; good condition
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ The shoeing of bullocks was first introduced in Britain in Roman times. The shoes consisted of two crescent shaped plates called 'cues', sometimes with a flange pointing inwards between the two sections of the hoof. Oxen were generally shod when they were required to travel on roads, either in droves, or when they were used to pull carts; but not when used for ploughing. From the 16th century onwards the droving trade from Scotland and Wales was very important, and large herds of Aberdeen Angus and Welsh Black cattle were driven by road to the London district. Sometimes the herds were fattened in the pasturelands of the Midlands and later sold as beef cattle, or as working oxen at the fairs of Barnet and Smithfield. Before they began their journey from the Highlands the cattle were shod, and very frequently a drove of cattle was accompanied by a blacksmith who re-shod the animals en route if the shoes became worn or loose. //
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