Description (CMS Description)
Mole feet carried as charms by farm labourers: four for gout, two for toothache
Event Date 29/3/1988
Author: maa

Context (References)
According to Robin Strub, MA student Cultural Heritage Studies at UCL, working on a student placement at the Horniman Museums and Gardens, the following publication gives contemporary information about rural charms:

Gosset, Adelaide L. J. Shepherds of Britain: Scenes from Shepherd Life, from the Best Authorities. London: Constable and Company Limited, 1911, p. 314: 'Mr. J. Newman of Chichester tells me that the Sussex shepherds used to put the fore-foot of a mole into a little leather bag and wear it round the neck, to keep off cramp.'

Information provided by Strub as a result of email exchange regarding MAA's holdings of material collected by Alfred William Rowlett.
Event Date 26/7/2016
Author: Remke Velden