Those of you who came to see our labs on 20^th September for Heritage Open Day would have seen these incredible leather shoes from Wiltshire Museum, which were brought to CMAS for assessment and conservation.

Figure 1. A group of three concealed shoes from Wiltshire Museum collection. Originally found in Avebury, inside a chimney wall of a 17^th century cottage.

They were discovered in 2022 inside the chimney wall of a 17^th century cottage in Avebury, along with thatching shears and small metal horseshoe shapes. All three are latchet-tie shoes dating to around 1640–70 and belong to a folk tradition of concealed shoes—ritual objects deliberately hidden in buildings, often in chimneys, roofs, or under floorboards. Most examples date from the 17th to 19th centuries and are typically single, heavily worn and repaired shoes, often caked in dried mud. Their purpose remains uncertain, though theories suggest they were intended to ward off evil, encourage fertility, or bring good luck. The Northampton Museum & Art Gallery maintains a global Concealed Shoe Index to record these finds. They also provide rare insights into the style, construction, and repair of working-class footwear, which is often underrepresented in museum collections.

Figure 2. X-ray of the largest shoe in the group, showing a small metallic inclusion in the heel.

Concealed shoes sometimes appear in ‘family groups,’ with one shoe representing each inhabitant of the house. X-rays of this group revealed unexpected details. The smallest shoe contained a compacted mass of fabric and granular material in its toe—possibly a home-made modification to fit a smaller foot, as shoes were expensive and often repaired, adapted, and handed down. The largest, a man’s shoe with a long squared-off toe, showed a tiny metal bead hidden in the heel. Was this the broken tip of a shoemaker’s awl? Or something more unusual, like hand-made lead shot that somehow found its way inside the shoe?

Figure 3. CMAS conservator Maria Ledinskaya making a bespoke internal mount for one of the concealed shoes.

As most of the “damage” on these shoes resulted from historical use or centuries of concealment inside a chimney, interventive treatments like cleaning, reshaping, or humidifying the leather would not be appropriate. Instead, conservation will focus on stabilising the loose wooden heel on the man’s shoe and creating a discreet internal mount to support the collapsed vamp of the high-heeled woman’s shoe. These measures will ensure long-term stability and interpretation while preserving the material evidence of their remarkable history.

Maria Ledinskaya, Conservator