Concealed shoe found at School Street, Embo
A concealed shoe found at 4 School Street Embo on 24th November 2023.
The house is estimated to have been built in 1880. The boot was found under the floor boards just inside the ground level front door. The joiner who found the article whilst taking up the flooring was of the view that the floor boards in the area of the find had not been lifted or otherwise disturbed since the day they were originally laid. He was of the opinion that the boot/shoe was placed under the floor boards at the time of the original building of the house in 1880.
Further opinion has been offered to suggest that the action of placing a worn shoe or boot under the floor of a house close to the point of entry was a deliberate act of superstition as it was believed to help ward off evil spirits.
The Senior Shoe Curator of the Museums Service, Northampton Museums & Art Gallery was of the opinion that "Style wise it is a front lace boot (I think from what I can see in the photo a Derby style) with metal eyelets which dates it post 1830s. It has a straight toe cap and no doubt a low stacked heel. Date wise I would say 1880s or maybe a bit later. Boots and shoes tend not to be hidden when the building was built but at some later stage when work was carried out".
Dimensions: Length 260mm - Width 120mm - Height 180mm