folklore and conkers

I was never that keen on conkers as a child, mainly because I wasn't particularly competitive, nor did I enjoy destroying things, but I always found them appealing aesthetically - the perfect  smooth conker like a carved wooden jewel hidden in the sharp bristling shell armour - the juxtaposition between the interior and exterior is pleasing somehow.

Yesterday I stumbled across the shells of several conkers in the local churchyard. Whilst my dog was trying to frantically climb the nearest tree in pursuit of a squirrel! It made me wonder about the history of the conker, specifically folkloric customs...

Apparently, if you bring conkers into the house, placing them inside windows or doors it will deter spiders from entering. They have also been linked to virility and male potency. In the past conkers were ground up and fed to horses - apparently to cure them of coughs! This was believed to be effective as when leaves fall and seperate from the twig they were attached to, they leave a horseshoe like mark complete with little holes resembling those which nails are driven through.

According to the Woodland Trust website the Horse Chestnut was introduced to Britain from Turkey in the 16th century, therefore there is less folklore surrounding it than other native species of tree.

In Jacqueline Simpson's Dictionary of English Folklore, conkers are believed to have originated from a game where discarded snailshells were pressed together by two opposing players to see which one crushed first which was refered to as 'conquering' or 'conquerors'.