A STRAPPING SET OF STIRRUPS
This pair of 19th-century stirrups is one of two pairs associated with Henry Lowther (1818-1876), 3rd Earl of Lonsdale, a notable sportsman with a passion for foxhunting. Lowther owned Lowther Castle and Whitehaven Castle, both in Cumbria, Barleythorpe Hall in Rutland, Carlton House Terrace in London and also stables at Asfordby, near Melton Mowbray. In 1870, he became Master of the Cottesmore Hunt.
His son, Hugh (1857-1944), the 5th Earl Lonsdale, also enjoyed a lively sporting career and was a leading sports personality of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as the Yellow Earl for his flamboyant yellow livery, the 5th Earl’s sporting loves included hunting and racing. He was Master of the Quorn and, like his father, was also, at various periods, master of the Cottesmore. In addition, the Yellow Earl founded the National Sporting Club, was first president of the International Horse Show in 1907 and was senior steward of The Jockey Club. His colt Royal Lancer won the St Leger in 1922.
What is particularly interesting is that the oval-shaped tread and parallel twisted bars of the Lonsdale stirrups mimic similar features of earlier stirrups of the 16th and 17th centuries. This pair is also engraved with beautiful riband strapwork mimicking that of Tudor armours made at the royal armourers’ workshop in Greenwich, established by Henry VIII in 1515. In fact, these stirrups, believed to have been made around 1830, are extremely similar in design and decoration to the 16th-century stirrups belonging to the armour of Sir Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, now in the Wallace Collection. They share close similarities in the strapwork designs on the sides, as well as the floral pattern on the tread.
The same striking, snaking strapwork design is also found along the borders of the various pieces of the matching Buckhurst armour, all of which originate from the Greenwich armoury. Buckhurst’s armour was made at the royal workshop around 1587 in preparation for the impending invasion by the Armada. Collectively called a garniture, each piece is decorated ‘en-suite’, and could be added or removed according to the various requirements of the Elizabethan battle or tournament field.
By the 16th century, it was common for a man’s armour to match the armour and accoutrements of the horse. Such distinctive ensembles were visual masterpieces when worn together and were designed to command attention, incite confidence and showcase wealth and status. Remarkably, only the Buckhurst garniture retains its original matching stirrups.
Where the Lonsdale stirrups differ from their 16th-century counterparts is in the oval decorative strap box. These feature a set of horseman’s equipment, including a riding boot with spur, an axe, a lance and a bit. Surrounding this within a ribbon is the motto “hunger dryves ye wolffe from ye woodde”, beneath which is, “mownte for ye warren’.
These stirrups belonging to the Earls of Lonsdale are a very fitting memorial to a family with a multigenerational love of hunting and racing. As with the decorative Tudor stirrups from Greenwich, these later pairs attest to their owner’s taste, status and privilege.
The Lonsdale stirrups can be viewed in the Hunting gallery at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, the national museum of arms and armour. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Pre-booking essential. Tel 0113 220 1916; royalarmouries.org