16 July 2012

Horseshoes in Scarrington: A Digression

When journeying from the Nottinghamshire villages Car Colston to Aslockton via the backroads, it seems a mistake not to take in the pile of horseshoes at Scarrington, which is said to be the biggest stack of used ones in the world. It is 17 feet high and at the base has a circumference of 19 feet 6 inches and was constructed between June 1945 and April 1965. The shoes are interlinked, but there is no supporting column. The artist was George Flinders, who was a blacksmith at Scarrington for 51 years.

In 1973 Nottinghamshire County Council, fearful that the pile would be lost to the USA, bought the heap. Between 1987 and 1988 some restoration was necessary in part because of general deterioration, but also due to souvenir hunters damaging the stack.

Close up, it's easy to see why this really is a work of art.

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