Shoe

This is a woman's walking shoe. It is very worn and distorted but it has features that were fashionable from about 1640-1660. These include a blunt toe, a small side opening and latchet fastening for ribbons. A latchet was a strap that fastened across the instep with either a ribbon or a buckle. Its blackened appearance suggests that it is probably a 'chimney' shoe.
Shoes are frequently associated with good luck. For example, they are often tied on the back of a wedding car or carriage. Pairs of shoes have often been found concealed in buildings, usually in a chimney but sometimes in the rafters or under the floorboards. Such shoes acted as a kind of talisman to protect the occupants of the house and bring them good luck.