1-192-545 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

Pilgrim badge in the shape of St Thomas Becket's head, second half of the 14th century. Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. The site, in Kent, England, became a pilgrim destination. Such badges signified that the pilgrim had completed the journey. Some were brooches with pins, others could be worn around the neck, or pinned to cloth. It was believed that the very touch of such a badge could heal the sick and dying. Cheaper versions were mass produced and sold to the hundreds of thousands of travellers who visited shrines and pilgrimage sites each year, some for the completion of a penitential journey, others just went for a trip to the country. Many pewter pilgrim badges have been found in the River Thames in London by modern 'mudlarks', licensed metal-detectorists searching the foreshore. They may have been thrown into the river by returning pilgrims as thanks for a successful journey.