The magical charms and amulets used by people in Norfolk

If so, you follow in the footsteps of countless thousands of people in Norfolk who have carried charms and talismans for magic or healing or amulets for luck and to warn off harm for centuries.

Perhaps you have a hag stone with a hole all the way through it to protect you from witches or a piece of amber to prevent tooth pain - but have you heard of some of these weird and wonderful charms and talismans from Norfolk?

Charms and talismans carried for good luck in Norfolk

1. Moles’ feet: Carrying a mole’s forefoot in a pocket as an amulet to prevent cramp is a medical tradition specific to the East Anglian region of England, and in particular, Norfolk. The feet were either hacked off a mole or bought from a shop. As an amulet against toothache, moles’ feet have a much longer and wider tradition, being recommended by the Roman writer Pliny in the first century. These examples were collected from Downham Market in 1910.

2. Fairy feet: Norfolk’s last traditional horseman, Ray Hubbard, told the EDP about a special charm he and other countrymen and women kept in their pockets: when a foal is born, its hooves are covered with eponychium, a soft capsule that protects the mother’s uterus and birth canal from sharp edges. He said: “These sponges on their feet, there’s another in the mouth and it comes out straight away when it’s born and if you catch it and let it dry out, it goes as hard as asphalt and then you can use it how you want. Bringing horses to you, that kind of thing.”

3. The Billingford Lamella: Amulets and lucky charms were common in Roman times to attract good luck and repel evil. A rare gold lamella was found in Billingford in Norfolk with a special inscription containing a call to the Gods for health and victory to Tiberius Claudius Similis, in addition to Greek magical signs and the word ‘ablanathanalba’, a well-known magical word (like ‘abracadabra’). The scroll would have been rolled inside a tubular pendant and worn as a necklace.

4. Golden phallus: You may have heard of the golden fleece, but the golden phallus…? A gold pendant was found at Hillington near King’s Lynn by metal detectorist Kevin Hillier in 2011. It owned by Norfolk Museums Service and is thought to be an example of a talisman used to ward off the evil eye.

5. Hares’ feet: Another amulet carried as a protection against cramp, this hares’ foot is from Norfolk and dates from between 1870 to 1920.

6. Amber: This ‘fossil resin’ is produced by pine trees which grew in Northern Europe. It was – and in some cases still is – believed to having healing powers for treating joint pain, arthritis and teething pain for children. This piece of amber was carried by a Norfolk fisherman to prevent rheumatism and was in use up unti the 1930s.

7. Witch stones, hag stones, hex stones, adder stones, snake eggs, fairy stones, eye stones, holy stones or holey stones: Whatever you call them, small stones with holes all the way through them have always captured our imagination In Norfolk, they are said to keep evil spirits out, prevent bad luck at sea, stop witches from souring milk or taking horses at night to ride, keep bad dreams away, help conceive a baby, cure aches and pains and let you see into fairyland. 

8. Norfolk Toad Witches, Toadmen or Toadwomen: These were believed to have power over animals and people thanks to a magical toad bone which they had extracted in a magical manner from a toad which had been sacrificed in order to create the spell. This was still in practice in Norfolk in the 20th century, the toad bone would be carried about the person in order to use its powers.

* Do you have a story about lucky charms in Norfolk or any other tale of the unusual and unexplained? Email stacia.briggs@newsquest.co.uk.