The Norman Cross prison of war camp dated from 1797 until 1815 and was home to prisoners from the Napoleonic War from France, Belgium and The Netherlands. Although the main camp was dismantled and sold at the end of the conflict, many objects have remained from the camp. These are usually items that the prisoners crafted out of wood, straw and bone, which they sold in local markets or to dealers. The objects are often beautifully detailed and related to the lives of the people who made them, or their intended market.
A more unusual source of material used for making items was horsehair and several examples of horsehair rings have survived. They vary in style and complexity and the coarse hair is often embroidered over with names and mottoes. A set of three/four rings shows three different colours in use and one of the rings has the name Ellen embroidered on it. One ring has a bone structure and is covered in brown horse hair, another is divided into 5 strands and is finely embroidered. Colours used include red, white, brown, yellow and black.
