Apotropaios

Apotropaios Researcher of strange things found in walls & under floors since 1999. FSA. Magical House Protection. Please ignore all imitations!

This page is all about academic research into the archaeology of witchcraft - run by Brian Hoggard who has been researching this topic since 1999. I have a website at www.apotropaios.co.uk which discusses the things which were placed in the walls and under the floors of buildings in order to ward off witchcraft and other perceived evils. Items like witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, conceale

d shoes, written charms, ritual marks and many other items were all used for this purpose. If you report finds to me and let me have your address I'll send you a little button badge :-)

https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/HoggardMagical

I was speaking at the ASSAP conference in Worcester today. This is the speaker before me. It was a bit of a nostalgia tr...
22/08/2026

I was speaking at the ASSAP conference in Worcester today. This is the speaker before me. It was a bit of a nostalgia trip as I used to hear lectures in this room during my degree...
www.apotropaios.co.uk

Popped in to Bredon's Norton Church in Worcestershire today. In five mins I found a huge daisy-wheel on the font, a larg...
14/08/2026

Popped in to Bredon's Norton Church in Worcestershire today. In five mins I found a huge daisy-wheel on the font, a large mass dial tucked behind the door (!), some apotropaic crosses on the left door jamb and another daisy-wheel on the right.

www.apotropaios.co.uk

Popped in to Stokesay Castle in Shropshire the other day, a place I used to have meetings when I used to work for Englis...
08/08/2026

Popped in to Stokesay Castle in Shropshire the other day, a place I used to have meetings when I used to work for English Heritage. Lots of well known deliberate burn marks and a nice example of three overlapping circles amongst numerous other things...
www.apotropaios.co.uk

Paid a visit to Clun Church in Shropshire today after a tip-off from David. The incredible daisy wheel is on the rear of...
03/08/2026

Paid a visit to Clun Church in Shropshire today after a tip-off from David. The incredible daisy wheel is on the rear of the front which has been positioned so that it's almost invisible. The motif appears in the choir stalls too.
www.apotropaios.co.uk

Edinburgh event! Don't forget friends that we will be in Edinburgh on Saturday 17th April 2027 to run Hidden Charms 6. I...
29/07/2026

Edinburgh event! Don't forget friends that we will be in Edinburgh on Saturday 17th April 2027 to run Hidden Charms 6. It promises to be another great day with 8 fascinating speakers. All welcome and tickets via the link... (please share)

www.apotropaios.co.uk

A recent visit to Oxhill Church, Warwickshire, (thanks to a tip-off from Lucy). The porch has several mesh marks, a circ...
26/07/2026

A recent visit to Oxhill Church, Warwickshire, (thanks to a tip-off from Lucy). The porch has several mesh marks, a circle and some apotropaic crosses. Inside is a wreath discovered hanging in the roof and a brilliant font with Adam and Eve. Outside the South door is a feast of Romanesque with lots of power flowers.
www.apotropaios.co.uk

At Tysoe Church in Warwickshire it's all about apotropaic crosses and Marian marks...www.apotropaios.co.uk
20/07/2026

At Tysoe Church in Warwickshire it's all about apotropaic crosses and Marian marks...

www.apotropaios.co.uk

18/07/2026

Bishampton Church is 5 mins down the road from where I live. It has an incredible font which I've known about for years and which I've posted about before. Today I thought I would post a video of it so you can admire it for yourselves :-)

www.apotropaios.co.uk

Address

Pershore
WR10

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Apotropaios posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category