A house that welcomes witches

A house that welcomes witches

The Herald
BRIAN DONNELLY
June 10 2005

IT was the must-have mod con of the sixteenth century that welcomed any passing sorceress.

A farmhouse for sale in the Scottish Borders offers the unusual selling point of a witch's ledge, a feature traditionally included in properties of the time to welcome an enchantress who may be flying past.

The ledge was designed to allow a stopping place and broom park for witches to help safeguard the house from evil, said James Denne, of Knights Frank, handling the sale of Whiteriggs at Melrose in Roxburghshire.

He said: "The witch's ledge was something that was seen in fifteenth and sixteenth century homes.

"It was very much a superstition that if you had somewhere in the house that a passing witch could stop and rest then the likelihood was that she would protect you and your house from any harm. So the witch's ledge indicates to a passing witch that she is welcome and she can rest peacefully there."

The property is being sold for offers over £825,000 ($1,503,204 USD) after the owner, who was not named by the agents, died.

It has three reception rooms, six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a traditional range of outbuildings, stable yard, hay barn and general purpose building. It is being sold as a whole or in six lots.