We had some work down in deepest, Darkest Hertfordshire, we were driving between a job in Sawbridgeworth and a job in Little Halingbury when we saw this thatched witch on a roof in the village of Gaston Green. Although we see plenty of animals on thatched roofs, I must admit that I have never seen anything like this before. We just had to stop the van and take a photo.  There is a lot of folk law and mythology attached to thatched rooves and witches. A noticeable feature frequently found on many thatched rooves is a raised sloping end to the ridge of the roof. Myth and folk law has it that these sloping ends are a defence to prevent witches landing on the roof. Other witch defences found on thatched roves around East Anglia include sharp pointed sticks on top of the ridge, in particular at the raised sloping ends of the ridge. Other thatch folk law indicates that it was quite common for people to hide items like coins, clothing, shoes, dead animals or pieces of bread in the thatching in order to ward off witches, evil spirits, and or poverty. These items are thought to act as a talisman to ward off whatever malevolent force was intended be it witches, evil spirits, or poverty. Shoes, for example, were often hidden within the thatch or rafters. This practice, dating back to at least the 18th and 19th centuries, was rooted in the belief that a shoe, being closely connected to the foot, retained a part of the person’s soul. On occasions, mummified cats are found lodged in old chimneys, apparently, the cats were put in chimneys to ward off witches and the evil eye.