A museum is seeking “witch posts” across Brighton and Hove . Witch posts are wooden posts in 17th-century homes and buildings which were carved in attempts to protect them with magic from intruders, fire or more supernatural elements. As part of a new exhibition, staff at Ryedale Folk Museum in Hutton-le-Hole in North Yorkshire wants to locate more witch posts, including in Brighton and Hove.
“We have three of these posts within our collection,” museum director Jennifer Smith said. “Always located next to a fireplace within 17th-century homes, they had practical purposes supporting the bressummer, but it’s the carved design that we’re very interested in. What makes ‘witch posts’ different is that they are marked with an X, a known protective mark.
” For years, it has been thought that there are fewer than 20 witch posts still in existence. But staff at the open-air museum have reason to believe there might be others across the UK. They’ve been working with a protective or ‘apotropaic’ mark specialist, Brian Hoggard, author of ‘Magical House Protection, The Archaeology of Counter Witchcraft’.
Mr Hoggard said: “For the people of the past, there was a perception that supernatural forces existed all around us and that it was only positive action that could keep us safe. Letting one’s guard down was believed to result in illness, misfortune, bewitchment and, ultimately, even death.” “We’d very much like to hear from you if you think you have .
