HORSE BRASSES - Used since medieval times and even mentioned by Chaucer, some of these are up to 200 years old. They were used to decorate the bridles and harnesses of the Shire Horses. With designs both personal and also symbolic of the villages or counties. Similar to customizing or decorating a truck today, in fact as trucks started to replace these beautiful and massive shire horses, the decorative brasses were often placed on the beams, in the village pub. A tradition that continues...
