Horsington church has a puzzle which has baffled us - and local historians - for years: what is the collar for? What is this collar? It's a small brass collar which appears to have been made as a dog collar, but it is engraved 'Horsington Poor'. 

The collar is very old, probably dating back to the late 18th or early 19th century. We wonder if it's connected to the old 'Poor Law' - a system of social welfare which helped support the poor. 

A community would have a group called 'overseers' whose job it was to help support the aged, sick and children in the parish, also helping to provide work for those who could in local workhouses - the nearest for Horsington being in Thimbleby.

Perhaps the collar was placed around person's arm if they were seeking some form of support, requiring them to return to have the collar removed and receive the money or food they were seeking. Wearing it would undoubtedly highlight to others that he or she was receiving support.

Perhaps it went around someone's neck (as long as it was a small one, as it isn't that big).

Do you have any ideas what the collar was used for? If so, please do get in touch!

See our photo library to see some photographs of the collar.