Most concealed shoes found in a house

In 2010, 58 shoes and 189 shoe fragments were discovered beneath the fireplace of Gelli Iago, a 17th-century farmhouse in the Nant Gwynant Valley, Snowdonia National Park, Wales. The cache included men’s, women’s and children’s shoes, roughly dating to the 1870s-80s.

The Northampton Concealed Shoe Index records over 2000 instances of shoes, ranging in date from the 16th to the 20th centuries, having been found concealed within the fabric of buildings. They’re most commonly found in the hearth (chimney and fireplace), followed by within the wall and beneath the floor. No pre-20th-century sources have been identified explaining the practice. A popular modern theory identifies the concealed shoe as a protective charm, hidden in vulnerable locations within the home to prevent the entry of evil spirits, witches, and demons. However, many 19th century folklore records identify the shoe as a good luck charm, so it is likely that shoes were concealed in homes to ensure the luck of the household. The hearth may have been a particularly popular place for hiding these charms not because they were vulnerable but because, in the days before television and central heating, they were central to family life.