This one's for Petrea, who got all emotional when we uncovered some original Norman ironwork, and also for Lynn, who I know (from personal experience) enjoys fondling ancient doors and has a kind of peculiar relationship with them.
Originally it hung in the lower portion of the south-west spiral stair and would have been part of the William Rufus build, begun in 1094 and curtailed by an arrow in the lung in 1100.
I love it!
Simply two wide, vertical oak planks on one side and a bunch of the same set horizontally on the reverse, nailed together and with the original Norman hinges intact.
Yes, I've fondled it; yes, I've taken rubbings of the hinges and measured every part of it. The door is currently in protective storage at Gressenhall (Norfolk Museums' old workhouse and safe storage facility), a fabulous day out for all the family.
When our work at the castle is completed the door will be displayed properly so we can all go and ogle it.
Just think how many times and by how many hands it has been opened and closed. The castle garrison (usually around 300 soldiers plus armourers, bowyers, fletchers and all manner of service staff) … It was there when Henry the First moved in at Christmas 1121; there through the Barons' Wars, the Anarchy and the sieges (see posts passim), there during the torturing of Lollards, Protestants, Catholics, Protestants and Catholics again; there through the successive developments of the prison buildings; there for Boardman's museum works and will continue to live there (albeit in a rather grander location) for many hundreds more years.
What tales its timbers could tell …
10 comments:
Oh it's so beautiful. All that time, all that time.
I remember standing in New College Lane, Oxford, in a moment when no one else was near. I leaned against the ancient wall. I wanted to feel it, and it seemed I could hear the hoofbeats of Charles I's guards.
These old buildings, these objects, literally connect us to our ancestors. To touch the things they touched is a heart-pounding privilege.
If I'm lucky, this link will take you there.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.7542894,-1.2530836,3a,75y,153.81h,83.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sob6fC949YM3AJt7ScRRQ3A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
You're lucky, Petrea, and yes, I know the lane quite well. Give it another few centuries and we shall be part of the feeling folk get walking through there.
We don't have lanes like that here. It's no wonder I want to retire in England.
I might just have to start a photo series of old lanes, Petrea.
Oh my goodness! Yes you know me well and have personally witnessed me caressing ancient doors haha. Aren't they just fabulous? As Petrea says, the connection with our ancestors is palpable. I can't wait to see it. Until such time, do tell how it felt. Does it have that shiny, worn, smooth feel or has it been hidden so long it seems more textured? How wonderful! I'm thrilled you got to see it first. Take me there just as soon as I get there and it becomes open! Xx
What a wonderful door! And yes the number of hands that have opened it is truly stunning. Speaking of timber tales, you should write a story involving the door and one of those garrison folks. Castle noir perhaps? So cool how well acquainted you are with this historic and fabulous door. Seeing it displayed once the castle opens would be amazing.
Thanks for that link Petrea! I followed the lane for a little bit and ran into a big door that had a little door with a sign that says "MIND YOUR HEAD". Now I want to go to Oxford and ring that doorbell!
Huzzah! Welcome back, Lynn! Yes, the door is definitely on our list of things to visit once the castle is open again. It does indeed have that shiny, worn-smooth feel; it's as hard as rock.
It was not on a route that Henry the First would have used but being the closest stair to the garderobes the door would have been VERY well used by the garrison and the workers on the lower floor.
We'll also be displaying the magnificent door from the cathedral infirmary (the one with the intricate dragon ironwork on it) so plenty of … er … wood to fondle. Xx
Katie, castle noir sounds fun. I might just get writing again. Come on over to Oxford and ring that bell!
Is that you, Lynn? Ah, next time I come to England I must have an open schedule! I was in Oxford for a month in 1999, ages ago. For me it was a dream summer and I want to go back.
I'm pretty sure Lynn and me will be jello-wrestling for the privilege of being your tour guide, Petrea.
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