‘Staggering array’ of curses and witches’ marks found at manor in Lincolnshire

English Heritage will welcome thousands of visitors over the Halloween period, but a new discovery has made Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire a contender for the spookiest site of them all.

- Nadia Khomami

The charity has uncovered a "staggering array" of witches' marks and rare curses carved into the walls of the Tudor property once visited by Henry VIII and his fifth queen, Catherine Howard.

The English Heritage volunteer Rick Berry discovered about 20 ritual protection or apotropaic marks — among the most identified at any of the charity's 400 sites.

Witches' marks were traditionally made to turn away evil, protecting buildings and those who lived or worked in them against demons, witches or the evil eye.

Berry discovered a particular concentration of marks in the Old Hall's servants' wing, including six-petalled flowers within circles — known as daisy wheels or hexafoils — which were believed to trap demons.