4164 – Pair of Child’s Shoes

Physical description:

A beautifully handcrafted pair of child's shoes (clogs), with leather uppers and wood and leather soles, and brass (or copper) buckles. Tiny copper nails attach the uppers to the soles.

Museum classification:

Protection

Size:

60 x 120 x 40 each

Information:

Found in a cavity in the chimney breast of an upstairs room in a house in Yorkshire.

Shoes were often hidden in houses in places such as chimneys as protection charms against witchcraft or misfortune in general. They may have been deposited with some kind of accompanying ritual.

One possibility is that because shoes were a very personal item, it was thought that they could direct evil away from the person themselves.

For a detailed article on concealed shoes see 'Shoes Concealed in Buildings' by June Swann on Brian Hoggard's Apotropaios website, at:

http://www.apotropaios.co.uk/concealed-shoes---an-article-by-june-swann.html

We have this information from the donor -

'The clogs came from a house, my grandfathers in fact, which was in Middleham, North Yorkshire, 16 Coverham Lane. I remember my Father saying that he found them in an upstairs room when he was repairing a chimney breast. They were in a little hole, like someone had taken a brick away and popped them in. He didn't want to take them out of the house but he loved his history did father and so he kept them on the downstairs mantle to show to people. I'm not sure how I ended up with them but I did.

 

My daughter told me about how shoes and the like were hidden in houses to protect against witchcraft and it were she who gave me your museums number. I've had to get rid of a lot of things now and so I'm glad these are going to a good home and I hope your visitors enjoy looking at them.'

 

 

Resource:

Object

Materials:

Leather, wood, metal (brass and copper)

Copyright ownership:

MWM

Found in a cavity in the chimney breast of an upstairs room in a house in Yorkshire.

Shoes were often hidden in houses in places such as chimneys as protection charms against witchcraft or misfortune in general. They may have been deposited with some kind of accompanying ritual.

One possibility is that because shoes were a very personal item, it was thought that they could direct evil away from the person themselves.

For a detailed article on concealed shoes see 'Shoes Concealed in Buildings' by June Swann on Brian Hoggard's Apotropaios website, at:

http://www.apotropaios.co.uk/concealed-shoes---an-article-by-june-swann.html

We have this information from the donor -

'The clogs came from a house, my grandfathers in fact, which was in Middleham, North Yorkshire, 16 Coverham Lane. I remember my Father saying that he found them in an upstairs room when he was repairing a chimney breast. They were in a little hole, like someone had taken a brick away and popped them in. He didn't want to take them out of the house but he loved his history did father and so he kept them on the downstairs mantle to show to people. I'm not sure how I ended up with them but I did.

 

My daughter told me about how shoes and the like were hidden in houses to protect against witchcraft and it were she who gave me your museums number. I've had to get rid of a lot of things now and so I'm glad these are going to a good home and I hope your visitors enjoy looking at them.'