Beat Halloween horrors – Tudor style

 Little Moreton Hall: Mon 23 Oct- Sun 29 Oct

 If you need to ward off nightmares at Halloween, Little Moreton Hall is offering some useful tips.

Hallowtide at the spectacular Tudor mansion near Congleton highlights the ways Tudor people dealt with other-worldly threats to their well-being.

Try your hand at making a ‘sleep charm’ to hang by the bed for protection during the night. Children can listen to bedtime stories about good triumphing over evil and you will discover the features of the Hall which were specifically designed to thwart evil spirits and witches.

Safety First. Tudor Gentlewoman Jane Moulder makes ‘sleep charms’ at Little Moreton Hall ⓒ Alan Ingram National Trust. Click on image to enlarge

Anna Fielding, from the Hall, explained: ‘Some of the oak timbers here are decorated with concentric circles, some very unusual triangular shapes and ‘daisy wheels.’ All of these were designed to trap witches or to warn them off.

‘We also have more than 270 burn marks scattered through the house. The burns are shaped like candle-flames. Once again, they were intended to deter witches and other creatures which might have evil intentions.

‘Witches and evil spirits were a very real part of Tudor life. So Hallowtide was a very significant time of the year. In our case, it also fits in very well with the ‘How We Used to Sleep’ project which has been a key feature of the visitor season at the Hall this year.’

The project, a joint venture between the National Trust and the University of Manchester, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, explores the Tudor approach to sleep and the often complex measures people took to safeguard their security and ensure a good night’s rest.

Anna added, ‘Many of our visitors have had a great deal of pleasure joining in with this particular bit of research.’

Hallowtide at Little Moreton Hall is every day from Monday 23 October to Sunday 29 October.

Little Moreton Hall is open from 11am – 5pm

For more information visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/littlemoretonhall or call 01260 272018.