there's a part of my home town where there's a lot of old (as in victorian) big houses. I keep seeing these oval metal things attached to the walls around there, what are they and what are they for (see pictures)?

by grapp

AbouBenAdhem

Those look like wall washers. They anchor the ends of reinforcement rods that run through the masonry.

one-of-the-herd

We call them Wall Anchors, used to keep walls from spreading apart or bowing, bulging. Very common in New England mills.