Research reveals undiscovered witches marks at Gainsborough Old Hall

Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire is over five hundred years old and one of the best preserved medieval manor houses in England. The hall was built by Sir Thomas Burgh in 1460.
It was once visited by Henry VIII and his then Queen, Catherine Howard. It is now owned and managed by English Heritage.
Recent Research conducted at Gainsborough Old Hall has revealed a large array of carved ritual protection, or apotropaic marks (sometimes called 'witches marks'), the most identified at any of English Heritage’s 400 sites.

Rare 'curse' inscriptions were also found.

Over the course of two years 20 carvings and a wide range of designs have been discovered and mapped around Gainsborough Old Hall. There was a concentration of marks in the servants' wing.
Simple circles that seem to be missing the internal six-petal design of a daisy wheel or a hexafoil are among the marks found. These were believed to trap demons.
Others include overlapping Vs or Marian marks, which are believed by some to call on the Virgin Mary for protection, and a pentangle, which (despite modern connotations) was originally used to protect against evil.

The research also revealed rare 'curse' inscriptions, which must have been made around the time William Hickman owned the property (from 1596), though they are more commonly associated with the Roman and Anglo-Saxon period. In one inscription, Hickman's name is written upside down. The practice of defacing a name was widely believed to curse the named person and is something not seen before at an English Heritage site.
As well as the carvings, there are approximately 100 burn marks – once believed to protect against fire, making Gainsborough Old Hall one of the charity's most 'protected' sites.

English Heritage's Head of Collections said it was astonishing that centuries on, the amazing old buildings in our care still have secrets waiting to be discovered. The Old Hall has undoubtedly had a tumultuous past, not least under the ownership of the apparently unpopular William Hickman, but why it's the scene of quite such a high concentration of protective carvings remains a mystery.

Other English Heritage sites where protective carvings have already been identified include:
- Boscobel House and The Royal Oak
- Bolsover Castle
- Cleeve Abbey
- Kirby Hall
- Harmondsworth Barn
- Stokesay Castle
- Audley End House and Gardens
-Deal Castle.

Photograph: English Heritage