OBJECT FILE
The Hand of Glory (Whitby Museum)
FOLLOWWhitby Museum, Pannett Park, Whitby, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
THE OBJECT
Human remains. A mummified severed human hand found in the early twentieth century hidden in the wall of a thatched cottage at Castleton, North Yorkshire, by the stonemason and local historian Joseph Ford, who identified it from the old stories as a Hand of Glory. It was given to Whitby Museum in 1935 and is on display in its 'Chronicle of Curiosities' exhibition. No scientific dating has been published.
REPORTED ACTIVITY
In folklore a Hand of Glory was the right hand of a hanged felon, cut from the body on the gallows and pickled, used by burglars to keep a household asleep: either as a candlestick for a candle of human fat, or with its own fingers lit. 'Should one of the fingers refuse to light it is a sign that someone in the household remains awake.' Whitby Museum calls it 'the only alleged Hand known to survive'.
WHERE IT IS NOW
On public display — kept by Whitby Museum (Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society). Whitby Museum, Pannett Park, Whitby, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
PROVENANCE · 1 ENTRY
TRACE ON THE MAP →1935 — CURRENT LOCATION
Whitby Museum
Whitby Museum, Pannett Park, Whitby, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Before 1935: found in the early twentieth century in a cottage wall at Castleton by Joseph Ford; the year is not recorded, so there is no earlier dated step.
Source: Whitby Museum, 'The Hand of Glory' ('given to Whitby Museum in 1935'; on display in 'Chronicle of Curiosities')
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