No evidence for ‘witches’ marks’ claims at old English buildings, historian says

Markings in Tithe Barn, Bradford-on-Avon, in an image released by Historic England in 2016. Photograph: Peter Williams/PA View image in fullscreen Markings in Tithe Barn, Bradford-on-Avon, in an image released by Historic England in 2016. Photograph: Peter Williams/PA No evidence for ‘witches’ marks’ claims at old English buildings, historian says Author argues symbols such as daisy wheels are no more than the working marks of stonemasons Over the years, English Heritage and Historic England have claimed to have identified large numbers of “witches’ marks” or “ritual protection symbols” on the walls of historic buildings, including medieval churches and houses. Now a leading architectural historian has said there is “absolutely no evidence” that these marks have anything to do with witches or any “mystical meanings”. Daisy wheels, or hexafoils, are among symbols that are no more than the marks of stonemasons who worked on those buildings, according to Jennifer Alexander, a professor of architectural history at Warwick University and author of a new study. She told the Guardian: “Do you remember at school when you were first given a pair of compasses and you made a daisy wheel? It’s that. There are hundreds of such marks and they tend to be [of] varying degrees of skill. It’s much more the sort of thing you’d use to train apprentices with, giving them skills in using tools on intractable surfaces like stone.” She said such marks were “practical geometry” being taught and tried out. “The daisy wheels are practices for drawing on stone and learning how to use compasses with straight edges to do geometry.” Ridiculing their identification as “witches’ marks”, Alexander said: “Anything on a stone building that looks like a design gets picked up as these damn things now. There’s absolutely no evidence they were ever used like that.” In 2024, English Heritage, the charity that looks after historic sites, announced that research at Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire had revealed “a staggering array of carved ritual protection, or apotropaic marks – sometimes called ‘witches’ marks’ – the most identified at any of our 400 sites”. It added at the time: “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.” In 2016, Historic England , the public body that advises government and helps to protect the historic environment, asked the public to hunt for witches’ marks that “date back to times when belief in witchcraft and the supernatural was widespread”. Its website states that witches’ marks, ritual protection symbols or apotropaic marks have been found in many historic places, while acknowledging that the significance of hexafoils is d