This rusty old horseshoe might not look like much, but it
potentially gives us an insight into several aspects of
Twickenham's 100-year history. This is because nobody really knows
for sure how it came to be here at Twickenham, but there are
several theories.

The horseshoe was found approximately 14 inches
(about 35.5cm) under the Twickenham pitch by the Clerk of Works,
John Clark, in 1999, when the pitch was having new drainage works
put in place in time for the Rugby World Cup. Upon its discovery,
an expert was consulted and dated the shoe to between 1880 and
1920. So, this leaves us with several possibilities:
- The land upon which the Stadium was built was a market garden
until it was purchased in 1906 by committee member, Billy Williams.
This is where it gets its name, "Billy Williams' Cabbage Patch"
from). The horseshoe may have been shed by one of the horses that
would have been present in this agricultural area.
- The construction of Twickenham Stadium between 1907 and 1909
would have involved horses in bringing building materials to the
area. The shoe may have been shed by one of these horses.
- Once Twickenham Stadium was up and running from the 1909-10
season onwards, the grass was mowed by horses, under the careful
hand of the groundsman, Charles Hale. Perhaps this shoe fell from
one of the horses that he used to keep the grass in good
condition.
- During the First World War, rugby union matches were suspended,
and the Stadium was used as a place to station horses before they
were sent into battle on the front. Perhaps the shoe was shed by
one of these horses before he was sent away to serve at the
front.
But there's one more option. Maybe the horseshoe was placed
under the pitch during construction in order to bring the Stadium
many years of good fortune. What do you think?