We were fascinated to see these marks around the fireplace at the Walronds, a wonderful late Tudor residence that is now run for the Cullompton community:
These are apotropaic marks, also sometimes known as witches marks. They were often made simply with a compass or race knife and can be found in historic buildings from the late medieval period to around the early 19th century. In this period, belief in the power of magical symbols was strong, as was superstition and the fear of witches. They are most likely to have been carved into the building as ritual protection symbols, to keep evil out of the house. The example above is from the fireplace and presumably would have prevented evil spirits or witches from entering the home via the hearth. The marks here are circles, though many witches marks take the form of hexafoils (daisy wheels), which many of us will remember drawing as an early exercise in geometry.
There are also similar marks around one of the doorways in the house:
The Walronds, by the way, is a fantastic building – not just for its heritage and historic value, but also for its place in the community. The space is used by various artists to display their work and it feels like such a warm and friendly place. It is a place of relative calm to escape from the noisy street outside.
To find out more about apotropaic marks, see this excellent video by Historic England: