Question: where might one find a collection of more than a hundred dog collars anywhere other than at a pet shop?
Answer: at Leeds Castle in Kent, England.
The Saxon manor house, built in 1119, has what is believed to be the world’s only museum with such a dog collar collection. They span five centuries and vary from the gold encrusted, richly opulent variety to the positively mundane.
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In their day, the collars in the collection were worn by every dog imaginable, from hunting hounds to little lapdogs. They have custom dog collars, stylish dog collars, dog training collars and even some that might now be considered trendy dog collars. A few prize specimens date back to the fifteenth century
The property itself has a richly chequered history too, having been patronised by many Royal kings and queens. It Tudor times, it was refurbished by King Henry VIII for his first wife Catherine of Aragon, who loved the place. The castle opened to the public in 1976 and now has some half a million visitors every year.
Elsewhere in Britain, Merseyside Maritime Museum also has some dog collars on exhibit, though their numbers can’t be compared with those at Leeds castle.
One fearsome-looking example is a handmade spiked collar believed to have been worn by fighting dogs in the early days of the 19th century. Studded dog collars were also used by working dogs.
There are many leather dog collars on display too, in all shapes and size.
Historically, Liverpool was one of Europe’s greatest shipping ports, the pivot around which the Western World revolved. It was also a busy centre for the rope-making industry. So it is not surprising that the museum should also feature samples of sailors’ rope work. One of their exhibits is a very sturdy rope dog collar, believed to be at least two hundred years old.
Dogs have always featured large in the British psyche, and here are three who needed no collars to keep them at their masters’ sides. Greyfriars Bobby’s fame has spread far beyond Scotland where he lived.
Bobby, a Skye terrier who never wore a dog collar, was the companion of John Grey, a gardener turned police constable. When his master died of TB in 1858, Bobby was distraught. He followed the coffin to the churchyard at Greyfriars (hence the name) sat down and no power on earth could move him.
Bobby continued to guard his masters grave – only emerging at the sound of the one o’clock gun every day, to have lunch – until his own death fourteen years later. When the little watch dog died in 1873, a granite fountain was built on the pavement near where he had mourned and grieved for his master. With a statue of Bobby on top, the monument attracts many visitors to Scotland’s capital city.
Tell’s Tower is a curious little structure standing by the Marine Lake at the seaside resort of West Kirby on the Wirral Peninsula. The tower was erected during the 19th century in memory of a brave German Shepherd who saved his master from drowning on the night of January 22, 1871. When he saw that his master was in difficulty, Tell swam far out into the Irish Sea, grabbed him and dragged him all the way back to shore. Then, with his master safe home at Hilbre House, the brave dog lay down on the sand exhausted. And died.
In recognition of Tell’s bravery a local clergyman, hearing the story, built a tower to the brave dog in the grounds of the house where he had lived. The tower became a lookout post during the Second World War and the house later became the home of Selwyn Lloyd, the then Speaker of the House of Commons. The property has long since been demolished, but the tower still stands although it is no longer accessible to the public.
Jet of Iada was a black German Shepherd, trained as a wartime search and rescue dog. Born in Liverpool, he was responsible for the recovery of 150 people during the London Blitz. Jet specialised in locating men, women and children buried under bombed-out buildings. On one occasion he located a woman alive in the rubble of a bombed hotel and stayed with her for twelve hours until she was rescued.
Jet was awarded the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals’ highest honour when he received the Dickin Medal for bravery, the most prized of all dog collars. He is buried in Calderstones Park, near the house where he was born. A memorial stands on the site, with a picture of Jet of Iada and an inscription giving details of his wartime career.
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