Home » Finds from inside buildings

Finds from buildings can be divided into three categories

  1. Items left in buildings because they were lost, forgotten or unwanted.
  2. Items deliberately deposited in a building. This deposit being thought to confer protection to the building or its inhabitants.
  3. Marks deliberately made in the fabric of the building during its period of use. These might be:
    • Marks with a practical use. e.g. scratch dials/ mass dials
    • Marks thought to have some supernatural influence; these were often seen as protecting the building.
Dog-handled Walking stick

A dog-handled “folk art” walking stick

BBC antiques roadshow – Broughton Castle 27 Sept 2015 [45:26-47:45]

A dog-handled ‘folk art’ walking stick with a full length fox hunting scene dating from the reign of King George IV. Found in an attic in Blackpool read more…

Deposited shoe

Concealed Garments

A ‘hidden cache’ of  items were found in the chimney of a house in Charney Bassett.  The fireplace had been boarded up, and was opened up when the house was renovated. The fireplace and chimney would appear to date from the early 17th century, although part of the building is almost certainly older. It is the same chimney that read more…

Deliberate marks

Apotropic Marks

These are marks on the fabric of buildings that are meant to protect the building from spiritual evil.  They majority appear to date from the 16th to the 18th century.  In some cases they have been made by the craftsman who constructed the building, in other cases they appear to have been made by the users of the building.  The buildings may be ecclesiastical, domestic or read more…