Horses and the National Trust

Written by Nicole Maceira Cumming and Ayesha Keshani, a team of PhD researchers, currently completing a work placement on ‘Horse Power’ for the National Trust and TORCH. They are supported by Frances Bailey and Dr Jane Eade (National Trust), and Alice Purkiss (Oxford University). 

The Horse Power project is shaped by a desire to trace and record the history of horses, and their contemporary absence, across the National Trust’s properties. Both presence and absence have underpinned our research into the historic role of horses within the properties and landscapes cared for by the trust. A vast material culture of horses survives, from art to architecture. Yet, this presence is often limited by what is on display and the ways in which buildings, such as stables, have been repurposed. As the project developed, discussions surrounding the contemporary absence of horses highlighted the need to examine their current role within the National Trust.

This led us to the work of Operation Centaur (OC) at Morden Hall Park (MHP) and Ham House.

Operation Centaur is an organisation, based in London, that promotes the relevance of the horse as a contemporary working animal in partnership with humans, through conservation, heritage, wellbeing and community projects. We had the pleasure of meeting with Tom Nixon, head of heavy horses at OC, and Jason Norris, the Garden and Outdoors Manager at MHP, to discuss the work that the horses do in the meadows. The meadows at Morden Hall Park and Ham House are both cut and maintained by OC, using their Shire Horses and horse-drawn machinery. This partnership has been developed since 2018, with decisions being made to protect the ecology of the meadows.

At Ham, the shift in agricultural practice has meant that rare species of plants are flourishing. Meadow saxifrage, once a common species on hay meadows and old grasslands, has been sighted, and yellow rattle, which is a common indicator of a meadow in good health, is in abundance (Meadow Protection, 2019). As well as the direct ecological benefits, Tom and Jason emphasised how much visitors loved encountering the horses at work in the meadows, highlighting the simultaneous benefits of protecting the heritage of the working horse and educating people about sustainable agriculture and biodiversity. 

Our meeting with Tom also presented the wonderful opportunity to meet some of the Shire Horses who carry out agricultural work for the NT! Having met the horses, and learned more about their work, we are keen to demonstrate how the history of Horse Power can be connected to, and developed alongside, the contemporary role of horses in the NT. Horses, past and present, offer huge potential for education and engagement, and can help to protect and conserve the natural landscape for future generations.
 
If you are aware of any histories, accounts or objects relating to Horse Power that are held at a National Trust property, or would potentially like to be involved in this project in the future, then please get in touch with frances.bailey@nationaltrust.org.uk

Find out more about the National Trust Partnership here.

Find out more about the TORCH Heritage Programme here.

The National Trust Partnership is an award-winning collaboration between Oxford University and the National Trust which creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange, public engagement with research and training at both institutions and beyond.