Yeah! It's so cool to see the little touches of life that were built into the museum collection. I imagine 1000 years from now Tod's spiritual successor will be describing how he had duct tape (sorry, gaffer tape) and super glue custom made to simulate 21st century repairs 😂
Calvin - one of my recurring thoughts is when will they start reenacting the 1980's, so yes authentic gaffer tape may well be a thing - nice thought. I have friends who are 1970's campers - classic
"They didn't want something that looked like [the real thing], they wanted the [real thing], because that tells the story." Thank you Tod for summing up what I have been unable to explain to other fantasy enthusiasts. Something that "looks cool" but doesn't function doesn't actually say anything.
@@cbjewelz Well, you're normally not allowed use real steel for cosplay and larping weapons. A lot of the time the things are made on a strict budget, and often modern materials are just more practical. I don't like looking down on someone's effort because it doesn't meet my arbitrary standards.
The fact that you can touch all this stuff is amazing. For adults, but especially for kids, having that tactile interaction really makes a huge difference in making the display feel real and connected to the past.
One of the best perks of being a craftsman that also does restoration is that ,occasionally, one gets to sit on the King’s throne. 👍 BTW, I still think you should roast a stag over the hearth.
Have to say I'll second the credit given to investing in historical replicas that are open to audience handling them. Simply touching an object helps tremendously in understanding it. Obviously, money is a barrier, but as a teaching tool it should never be underestimated. If I find myself in Dover one day I am definitely going to the castle.
I believe I've visited Dover Castle a total of 3 times in my life: twice before they did the big restoration of the interior of the keep (once as a kid, and once as a teen), and once after all the restoration work and making the keep look like it would have hundreds of years ago. It was a really cool and interesting castle to visit before, and now it's just so much cooler and more interesting. As someone who knows much more than the average layman about what things were really like in the keep's heyday (but less than what an expert would know), I found the authenticity of everything to be so damn refreshing. Typical ideas of what a medieval castle was like based on pop culture are cool and all, but I'm much happier to see some authenticity. I'm really loving these videos about the pieces in the castle and the little details that are so easy to miss!
I'm an italian wood restorer and...OH MY GOD! I really love what you all have done there! Feeling the history with more than just eyes is...amazing. Good job!!!
I was teaching archery at one of the events at Dover a few years ago and, when we were rained off for a whole day, I spent an absolutely lovely couple of hours wandering around the keep in costume chatting to the visitors. It's such a wonderful setup.
I love all the colors and contrast… It’s borderline garish by today’s standards, but it does an amazing job of showing just how bright and lively things were back then
Awesome! This is very similar (esp. with the hands-on aspect) that I've been doing with a handful of living history groups with Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester Massachusetts (now part of Worcester Art Museum). It's a fantastic experience.
One of my favorite series is the ongoing work on Guedelon. The points that you bring up here show how you're doing the same thing from a different angle: recreating period items ad hoc for display rather than en masse for research. Perhaps the most important question is "Why", but it is also the most difficult to answer. Your efforts are research, and the understanding of why our forebears did things remains useful today.
@@SteamCrane Sure, but what is "correct"? Think of someone in 800 years trying to piece together a "period correct" laptop computer from surviving documentation or a period correct couch. Think of someone trying to piece together a "correct" weapon, be that a firearm, a tank or even a bow. Exactly reproducing a picture of a MacBook Pro or a La-Z-Boy or an AR-15 wouldn't capture the diversity that existed at the time, and more important, would fail to capture the reason why some objects looked one way and others looked different. An object which doesn't match any exact description but helps someone to understand why and how it was used offers an insight into ALL of the permutations, even if those are unavailable or even lost to history. The fascinating thing that Tod and the project at Guedelon do is using period correct methods for producing objects, which in turn offers insight into the objects that their final users would not otherwise grasp.
The best castles and historic sites I've visited over the years have been the ones with exhibits you can interact with and touch. Simply having shields, helmets, tools etc. that visitors can feel and handle makes the place so much more interesting. I'm so glad you got to be involved in something like this Tod; I hope it gives people a better connection to the history of the place.
Myself and a friend both went to Dover castle, both with BA’s in History, and both with a fascination of the medieval world. We actually remarked on the quality and that they didn’t seem to be poorly made, poorly researched pieces. This is amazing to find out that it was you that made them! I had to forward him the video!
Briefly got to volunteer there this summer with the chough project and its always been such an amazingly tactile experience. I remember being so excited as a kid after the restoration of the building. I'd spent years seeing bare walls and loving it still and then to see it in its garish colours, filled with as much as they could sensibly put in was amazing. And to find out you helped to make some of it! just amazing to know now
Mad props to everyone who made that happen. That must have taken a lot of determination to make happen because it certainly was not the easy or cheap way.
I love this so much! That authenticity really does take vision and courage in this day and age. So much easier to take shortcuts but this approach gives it soul.
The great castles of England are on my bucket list and have been since I've been a kid. I hope one day to be able to see them. Until that day comes I appreciate you and other people like yourself that help to keep my dreams possible. Thank you so very much. God bless and stay safe.
As a Dovorian who frequents Dover Castle visits, a weird metric I’ve used throughout my life is how easily I could lift the chainmail Hauberk - Dover castle is truly one of the greatest historical heritage sites in all of the UK and has such a rich and long life/timeline spanning and participating in so many important historical events
Dear Dover Castle people, Can Tod stay an extra week please? Im absolutely loving these videos! Visiting this castle in person is now on the bucket list.
We were very lucky to visit Dover Castle several years ago and honestly wished we could have spent a few more days than the 1 we were there for. We took in just about everything but it is such a wonderful place that it was overwhelming. The keeps interior is stunning and definitely made the greatest impression as did a certain piece of maille armour of which I got a lovely close up photo of, my favourite shot of the day. Unbeknownst my greatest memory of Dover Castle was made by you. I envy your access to Dover and love your videos. Thank You :)
What an incredible place, I love to see that there are places that try and get things right, and for people to see! And I loved the bit about the stump anvils, I commented in last episode I would love some video more in depth on medieval anvils and blacksmith tools in general. Here's hoping! Cheers for a lovely video showing off the place!
There are a lot of castles, but this has definitely convinced me to prioritise Dover over the others. I love the way they've integrated visitor and history focuses, rather than putting a Hollywood and neglecting the history or keeping everything behind glass and 3ft away and neglecting some of the visitor experience. There is a time and place for both ofc, but I love that this exists.
What an awesome and amazing project to be part of! That must be such an honor and a privilege. I’m glad they have such expert craftsmen like yourself working in this!
I really appreciated when I went to the IWM Duxford when they had WW2 equipment inc guns (deactivated and chained down) to feel the weight of them. I wonder if either making the top piece of wood thicker or welding a small length of chain to the bottom would allow people to experience the weightyness of the thing without them being able to remove them.
My brothers and I do WWII living history stuff and it’s always interesting watching people who get to experience holding something like a Garand or a Thompson because for most people their only real interaction has been through video games. Seeing the physical translation of “I’m looking down the sights just like in World at War” is unique
@@johnbeauvais3159 can confirm they're sent over the moon. i still remember how 9 year old me felt when i got to shoulder the Steyr AUG when all my interaction with it is in the old CounterStrike games. me mom probably half regretted her choice to bring me to an open day at the local army reserve. i was giddy for the rest of the day.
Where I live, we had a place called the Higgins Armory Museum, concentrated on medieval to renaissance arms and armor that combined static "don't touch" displays with interactive displays and presentations. They went insolvent a few years back and the city's museum(s) inherited their collection.
You just answered a question I had, how did they make anvils back before the industrial revolution where they could be cast and finished. I wouldn’t have guessed the answer was to place a piece of steel in a tree stump. Thank you
I like a lot of your videos, I find them interesting or noteworthy. This one, I have to admit is one of the best! Not only was it done in a way that want me to attend. but you share, and in some cases, keep the problems.
Looks like a great place to visit. This video ends up as one of the best ads the castle could ever ask for. I have like the videos you have made from from Dover Castle and would love to see you expand on it with the other artisans. I'm sure the channel 4 content is nice, but like the castle, I like the less produced more authentic vibe you could provide. Just you and an artist geeking out about the projects they contributed and why they made the decisions they did, without the tv time and form constraints.
Wonderful work! My brother lives near Dover Castle, so we visit often, sometimes on a regular day, when it is reasonably quiet, and sometimes when they have an event and it is far busier. I have enjoyed watching medieval jousts, WW2 skirmishes and Romans marching up and down. I will look out for "Gilbertus Me Fecit" next time I visit.
I really hope more and more heritage castles, especially continental ones that are free from salty climates can put up similar efforts like this. With experience of Dover at hand but less effort to maintain, it can become a trend for more heritage organizations to focus on recreating medieval castle lives without some terrible misconceptions.
I had no idea that Dover Castle had this kind of museum display. Only been to England once but as I didn't have time to see and do everything I wanted in London I'll be back and now I'll definitely put in a trip to Dover Castle on my next visit, the cliffs alone wasn't enough to spend a day on traveling there before. Will also prolly put in a stop in Canterbury on the way back making it a two day trip with a layover in either city.
If they'd done chains instead of bolting them in place, the viewers would be able to lift and hold the items, without getting into mischief. Keep 6 inches or so long, and then you could hold the kings sword, but only a handspan off the chest. Thank you Tod, a very wonderful place. I hope to visit some day.
I'd love to go back. The last time I went was while the restoration was underway, so you couldn't enter the Keep. Even so, it's a fascinating place to visit. When you look at places like Dover Castle, and the Charles Rene Mackintosh house up in Scotland being preserved by a set of maille curtains, it's encouraging seeing the imaginative ways of conserving, and allowing people to engage with, history.
Oh god this is so cool. I have always wanted to visit the UK but never really had a specific thing in mind to do, I think this might just be the perfect motivator
There are over half a dozen castles in the area I grew up in. All of them are modernized, got turned into living spaces (at least partially) and are usually inaccessible to the public. One of them has a small 'museum' with historical items, but everything is locked behind glass and it's not even in the castle itself. Dover castle sounds so much more interesting
I have a rich and abiding love for Sir David Attenborough, for his work in conservation and the many, many, many films/ documentaries he's done in pursuit of conservation. He's been internationally recognised for his work and has been publicly rewarded for it many times. I don't begrudge him any of these awards or recognition; He deserves all of them. What I DO begrudge is the lack of recognition people get who struggle to preserve things from our history (as opposed to those like Sir David who struggle to preserve the present). People like Tod Cutler, or the people who dreamed up this Dover Castle project, or indeed, the Guedelon Castle project in France (where they're building a castle the way our ancestors did, back in ~ the 12th century)... All of them are people who are struggling to preserve the parts of our history that led us to where we are now. None of them have earned any recognition or awards (that I'm aware of) for their work. TLDR: That's the one thing I'd change - I'd want there to be more acclaim for the people who, through their crafts, are able to show us how our ancestors lived. So, here's cheers for Tod Cutler and all the people like him whose work reminds us what the world used to be like, when our ancestors lived in it.
I've always believed visiting a museum should be as tactile an experience as possible, which is why I'm no longer allowed at the Tower of London where they keep the Crown Jewels. Grouchy bunch.
Tod , you are an amazing man ! 100 years from now when all of these things need to be refurbished , the people doing it will wonder who made them , they will find out it was You ! And a documentary on you will be made . Probably in 3D smella vision.
What a fantastic idea. What an honor to have been a part of something like that- and I can’t think of anyone else who would do a better job of it than Tod. Amazing. Edit: My wife and I have a lot of English in our ancestry, but we live in the US (New England, actually- but obviously it’s nothing like it😆) and it’s a dream of ours to some day visit, and we have such a long list of places that we want to see. It’s doubtful that we could see it all in a month, let alone a week’s vacation, but Dover Castle just flew up near the top of the list. Thanks again, Tod, for all that you do to keep the history and and culture of such legendary lands alive.
I watched the documentary you recommended in your last video on Dover Castle, great to see you 13, 14 years ago haha ^^ as soon as I saw it was a special with Tony Robinson, I knew it was going to be good :D Thanks for the recommendation and this interesting video, Tod!
