The priest hole in England was the secret place built into a home, behind a staircase or fire place, where Catholic priests who were invited to celebrate the Latin mass were hidden from the authorities.
The Protestant Elizabethan state accused both the priests who celebrated the Latin mass and those who hid them of treason. The penalty was often death, by being hanged, drawn and quartered. So those who celebrated mass and those who faithfully received needed to be safe from discovery.
A whole culture of secret signs grew up. One of the earliest and most popular was a wax disc on which were displayed a lamb and a cross.
