Large amount of witch marks found in Tudor house in ‘amazing’ discovery in England

() – An “astonishing variety” of witch marks were discovered on the walls of a Tudor property in England.

The inscriptions, formally known as apotropaic marks, were believed to provide ritual protection against evil.

News of the discovery, timely announced to coincide with Halloween, was released by English Heritage, a charity that cares for hundreds of historic monuments, buildings and sites.

Gainsborough Old Hall is a stately home in the eastern county of Lincolnshire that was visited by Henry VIII and the then queen, Catherine Howard, according to a press release from English Heritage on Tuesday.

The markings were discovered by Rick Berry, an English Heritage volunteer who spent two years mapping around 20 inscriptions within the majestic property, according to the statement.

These include a “staggering variety” of designs, according to English Heritage, although there is a notable concentration in the servants’ wing of the hall.

Among the markings found were simple circles that would normally be expected to have a six-petal design inside, known as a hexafoil, for trapping demons.

One theory is that the petals may have faded or that drawing them would have been beyond the engraver’s skills, an English Heritage spokesperson told in an email.

Also found were superimposed Vs – known as Marian marks, as some believe they are a call to the protection of the Virgin Mary – and a pentagon that was used to protect from evil.

Berry told in an email sent by English Heritage: “I have been working as an English Heritage volunteer in Gainsborough for almost 20 years and know this property extremely well. So I was surprised when I noticed a previously undocumented guard mark a couple of years ago.

“I decided to see if I could find more and I just keep finding them. The last one was a small pentagram and that was a few weeks ago, but who knows how many more are left to discover.”

It appears that a curse was placed on former owner William Hickman, who had owned the property since 1596, as his name was found spelled backwards, the statement added. Defacing someone’s name was widely believed to be a means of cursing that person, although it is a practice more commonly associated with the Roman and Anglo-Saxon period and has never before been found on an English Heritage property.

Around 100 burn marks, thought to protect against fire, were also discovered on the property.

Kevin Booth, head of collections at English Heritage, said in the statement: “It is astonishing that, centuries later, the amazing ancient buildings we guard still hold secrets to be discovered.

“The Old Hall has undoubtedly had a tumultuous past, especially under the ownership of the apparently unpopular William Hickman, but why it is the scene of such a high concentration of protective engravings remains a mystery.”

The meaning of apotropaic comes from Greek and refers to warding off evil. The marks are usually found carved in stone or wood, usually near doorways, doors, windows and fireplaces. Its purpose was supposedly to protect inhabitants and visitors from witches and evil spirits.

In 2019, hundreds of witch marks were found etched into the walls of a cave system in the East Midlands, central England. Other apotropaic marks have been found on houses built between about 1550 and 1750.

Experts say similar signs were inscribed in churches and homes, as well as other caves, and were used to ward off illness, death or crop failures.