17th Century
This child’s shoe was found in the chimney of 40 South Street, Dorking.
The shoe has been dated to 1650-1700. ‘Latchet’ shoes had two holed leather tongues designed to take a latchet, or shoelace, for fastening. Such a fashionable feature is unusual in a child’s shoe so it is thought to have belonged to a family of wealth.
Putting shoes and other personal items into chimneys was a common custom. It was thought that evil spirits could enter a house via the open chimney, and personal items with the imprint of the occupants on them would attract the spirits away from the human residents of the house.
