Knucklebone Floor

At Bicton Gardens, Devon, UK, the Hermitage Garden features a bower house. The floor is made entirely of deer bones pressed into the ground, so that only the top knucklebone is exposed. Like this:



Knucklebone floors were in vogue for a comparatively short period from the late 17th - early 18th century and are therefore quite rare. Owners of buildings with simple earthen floors could consolidate and protect them from wear as well as producing a ‘pleasing’ decorative effect by driving animal bones (usually sheep) into the ground surface.

‘Knucklebone floors’ are among the better documented constructional or decorative practices from post-medieval Britain which was fairly widespread throughout the south west and south east of England in the late 17th to the early 18th century, although few have been discovered.