Repairs at Kew Palace uncover a tradition

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George III, the most rational of madmen, might have been horrified to learn that his daughters were sleeping under witchmarks cut into the roof timbers above their heads - charms gouged into the wood, probably by superstitious servants, to keep witches from flying in at the windows or down the chimney.

The witchmarks are among the secrets uncovered at Kew Palace while the most intimate of all the former royal homes was closed for repairs.

Yesterday Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the building, announced that Kew will reopen in 2006, 10 years after it closed for repairs expected to take only a few years.

It stands within one of London's most popular attractions, Kew Gardens. Tourists have been clamouring to get into the building, which won fame as part of the setting for the Oscar-winning film The Madness of King George.

The "palace" - really a solid redbrick 17th century merchant's house - became virtually a prison for the unhappy king, where he suffered experimental and often excruciating treatments for the hereditary condition porphyria.

The remaining work will cost £6.6m, of which HRP still has to raise £1.5m. The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced a £1.6m grant, £1m has already been raised from private donations, and HRP will contribute £2.5m on top of almost £3m already spent.

The closure has given historians a unique opportunity to study the skeleton of the building - which is where curator Lee Prosser found the witchmarks.

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[Guest Lottie]

I love Kew Gardens its such a peaceful and Tranquil place.