Witch bottle in wall

This witch bottle was found during works on St Mary the Quay in 2015. The wall dates from the fifteenth century, but the bottle may have been a later addition, as the first descriptions of witch bottles is from the 17th Century. Witch bottles used to protect the inhabitants from witches and other evil spirits, which might enter the building and cause enchantments and curses to be placed upon them. A human body part such as clippings of hair or nails were placed into the bottle, to confuse any malevolent spirits to casting enchantments in the bottle, rather than on people.