Ye olde cottage.

[Doug]

When I renovated a 1800's house we lived in I found a shoe in behind the the old fireplace.

"Concealed shoes hidden in the fabric of a building have been discovered in many European countries, as well as in other parts of the world, since at least the early modern period. Independent researcher Brian Hoggard has observed that the locations in which these shoes are typically found – in chimneys, under floors, above ceilings, around doors and windows, in the roof – suggest that some may have been concealed as magical charms to protect the occupants of the building against evil influences such as demons, ghosts and witches. Others may have been intended to bestow fertility on a female member of the household, or been an offering to a household deity.

Concealed shoes have been found in many types of building, including country houses, public houses, a Benedictine monastery and a Baptist church. The earliest yet reported was discovered behind the choirstalls in Winchester Cathedral, which were installed in 1308.

Northampton Museum maintains a Concealed Shoe Index, which by 2012 contained 1900 reports of discoveries, mostly from Britain and almost half from the 19th century. The overwhelming majority have been worn, and many have been repaired. Most finds are of single shoes, about half of them belonging to children. The custom appears to have died out some time during the 20th century."

[Bors]

Its possible that the coins had even slipped between the cracks between each floor board maybe ? I know when I had to take the bedroom floorboards up to fix a leak in the waterpipes to the heating in a house I once owned , even though it wasn`t an old house it still had some pre decimal coins under the floor boards which had slipped down, amongst other things such as hair clips and pins etc etc.even with tongue & groove floorboards over a matter of time some had warped giving room for space big enough for coins to drop through. I doubt if very old houses had tongue & groove floor boards, which would then make it even easier for coins & other stuff to drop into and drop down onto the ceiling base. Anythings possible .

[Emily]

When I renovated a 1800's house we lived in I found a shoe in behind the the old fireplace.

"Concealed shoes hidden in the fabric of a building have been discovered in many European countries, as well as in other parts of the world, since at least the early modern period. Independent researcher Brian Hoggard has observed that the locations in which these shoes are typically found – in chimneys, under floors, above ceilings, around doors and windows, in the roof – suggest that some may have been concealed as magical charms to protect the occupants of the building against evil influences such as demons, ghosts and witches. Others may have been intended to bestow fertility on a female member of the household, or been an offering to a household deity.

Concealed shoes have been found in many types of building, including country houses, public houses, a Benedictine monastery and a Baptist church. The earliest yet reported was discovered behind the choirstalls in Winchester Cathedral, which were installed in 1308.

Northampton Museum maintains a Concealed Shoe Index, which by 2012 contained 1900 reports of discoveries, mostly from Britain and almost half from the 19th century. The overwhelming majority have been worn, and many have been repaired. Most finds are of single shoes, about half of them belonging to children. The custom appears to have died out some time during the 20th century."

They’re very common in very old houses. They needed to keep those pesky witches and spirits away!! Unfortunately we didn’t have to do any work on ours, so couldn’t find out.

[Emily]

Its possible that the coins had even slipped between the cracks between each floor board maybe ? I know when I had to take the bedroom floorboards up to fix a leak in the waterpipes to the heating in a house I once owned , even though it wasn`t an old house it still had some pre decimal coins under the floor boards which had slipped down, amongst other things such as hair clips and pins etc etc.even with tongue & groove floorboards over a matter of time some had warped giving room for space big enough for coins to drop through. I doubt if very old houses had tongue & groove floor boards, which would then make it even easier for coins & other stuff to drop into and drop down onto the ceiling base. Anythings possible .

I understand your reasoning, but no, these coins were together in a pouch that had partially disintegrated.

[Bors]

I understand your reasoning, but no, these coins were together in a pouch that had partially disintegrated.

Thats fair enough if they have been found with the remains of a pouch.

[Emily]

Thats fair enough if they have been found with the remains of a pouch.

We chose to leave them in situ, but would’ve loved to go exploring through the floorboards like you described. I bet a lot had been dropped and lost overtime.