The Victorians were highly superstitious

New Year’s Eve is a liminal time, steeped in traditions of fortune and renewal for the months ahead – from resolutions made, to kissing at midnight and opening the door to let the New Year in, there is a prevailing belief that actions taken as the New Year dawns can influence the entire year.

As we welcome 2023 (and make our own little resolutions about increasing visitor numbers and delivering exciting, engaging brick-based projects) it seems a good time to explore some of the other superstitions that are focused on bricks and buildings. It seems that for as long as people have had homes, they have had their own ways of drawing good fortune upon them, and of warding off evil spirits.

We start in the medieval period when witches were apparently rife, and homeowners had deep concerns of curdled milk and spoiled grain. Whilst burning any woman of a certain age who kept a cat was believed to be frightfully effective to combat witchcraft, there were also more general measures that homeowners could take to protect their homes and their families.

These included burying ‘witch bottles’ in doorways and under windows. Witch bottles were filled with pins, hair, urine, fingernail clippings and herbs to create a small spell in their own right. The key was to place them at any threshold to the home (hence the windows and the doors) to stop evil forces from entering the building.

For extra protection homeowners could also bury shoes in the fireplace, brick them into walls or hide them beneath the floorboards. Written records describing why this superstition emerged are scant, but the body of evidence supporting its practice is huge with examples of hidden shoes evident from America to Australia. Two hundred years ago, shoes were handmade and valuable. Sacrificing one of a pair (it is often only one that is found) shows a real dedication to combatting the forces of evil.

Less commonly used was brick dust which, when sprinkled at the entrance to a house, was thought to again protect against witches and spirits, and has the added likely bonus of keeping snails at bay as well.

Iron shoe keeping guard over our engine

As well as warding off evil, there are things that homeowners could do to draw good luck to the home – most common among these (and seen in some small way at our site) was the nailing of a horseshoe above the door. Our brickmakers failed to find a decent-sized horse but there is a rather nice sole protector from a boot pinned next to the door of our engine room. This tradition began as a way to ward off evil spirits (including elves) but evolved into a symbol of good luck.

There are other more modern superstitions governing the home – some of which likely originate from purely practical safety considerations. Not walking under a ladder for example, and not crossing on the stairs. And there are superstitions governing moving into a new house – those numbered 13 are still statistically less likely to sell than their even numbered neighbours. It is also considered bad luck to move on a Friday, a Saturday or any day when it is raining…which could be seen as a bit of a disadvantage with the Great British Weather.

As the New Year dawns and we head into the brave new days of 2023, everyone at the Brickworks wishes you good luck for the coming months. Touch wood, we will see you at one of our open days or events in 2023.