Mesh marks
From a column in the Lantern chamber of Tewkesbury Abbey tower.
These marks are essentially either a grid or a tangle of marks designed to form a barrier to any nefarious forces attempting to enter a property.
Sometimes these mesh marks are in the form of a neat grid as we find in the tower of Tewkesbury Abbey (right). There are three of these in the lantern of the tower. Similar mesh marks can be found at Pershore Abbey too, also in the tower. And a little futher away we also find them at Frocester Court in Gloucestershire.
Sometimes these mesh marks are in the form of a neat grid as we find in the tower of Tewkesbury Abbey (right). There are three of these in the lantern of the tower. Similar mesh marks can be found at Pershore Abbey too, also in the tower. And a little futher away we also find them at Frocester Court in Gloucestershire.
These marks existed on the back of all the shutters in this 18th century house in Shropshire.
As it can be made of what look like random lines it really isn't that easy to determine when it is deliberate of not - seeing the same example several times at the same property is generally a good indication though as was the case on the shutters of an 18th century property I visited in Shropshire (left). This example also includes circles.
If you can image that where the surface has been scratched away it leaves a negative imprint of the mark on the 'other side', thereby forming a barrier against any dark forces attempting to penetrate this part of the building. My interpretation is that where things are 'killed' they take on a presence which can be effective against supernatural forces.
If you can image that where the surface has been scratched away it leaves a negative imprint of the mark on the 'other side', thereby forming a barrier against any dark forces attempting to penetrate this part of the building. My interpretation is that where things are 'killed' they take on a presence which can be effective against supernatural forces.
Brian Hoggard, Magical House Protection - The Archaeology of Counter-Witchcraft, Berghahn, 2019.
Brian Hoggard and Alicia Jessup, ‘Llancaiach Fawr Manor: Fortified Against Evil’, The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Magazine, Autumn 2017 , pp51-5.
Timothy Easton, ‘Scribed and Painted Symbols’, in Paul Oliver (ed), Vernacular Architecture of the World, 1997/8 (four vols), CUP.
Timothy Easton, ‘Ritual Marks on Historic Timber’, Weald and Downland Open Air Museum Magazine, Spring 1999, pp22-30.
Brian Hoggard, 'The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic', in Owen Davies & Willem de Blecourt, Beyond the Witch-Trials, 2004, Manchester University Press, pp167-186.
Dean, J & Hill, N. 2014, 'Burn Marks on Buildings: Accidental or Deliberate', in Vernacular Architecture, vol 45, 1-15.