SUPERSTITION: STRANGE WONDERS AND CURIOSITIES

MATT SALUSBURY visits an exhibition of East Anglian curiosities in Bury St Edmunds’s Moyse’s Hall Museum

At the time of writing there’s still a cornucopia of forteana on show in the suitably grand surroundings of Moyse’s Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds, believed to be one of the oldest civic buildings in England, dating to the 12th century. “Superstition: Strange Wonders and Curiosities”, as the exhibition is titled, includes some fairy loaves – fossil seaurchins (FT278:63, 332:42) – that could be found in abundance in the sandy soils locally and that slightly resemble miniature, round loaves. These were thought to have been baked by the fairies; they were said to bring good luck in Suffolk and to ensure a plentiful supply of real bread. Paradoxically, in the neighbouring county of Norfolk, bringing fairy loaves into your home was thought to invite misfortune. Also on show, from Moyse’s…

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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 456

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