Events
Traditional Crafts Bring Dover Castle Back to Life
Using the same techniques and spirit of past embroiderers to produce specialist decorative work worthy of Henry II, the RSN has created four pieces of embroidery to decorate the King’s Hall and the Guest Hall. The most important piece is the King’s Hall backcloth, which features the lion rampant, the symbol of statehood, as its central design. The lion symbol appears again on the King’s Standard, reinforcing that all are in the presence of the English King.
The Guest Hall backcloth, another powerful reminder to the guests of whose palace they are visiting, shows the mounted King Henry, ready for battle in mail, although without helmet so that all might see his face, wearing his crown and holding his sword aloft.
The Great Tower at Dover Castle is one of the most important royal buildings anywhere in Britain. English Heritage’s work on transforming its interior is part of a wider investment programme at the castle. The current exhibition on Henry VIII will be replaced by a new “immersive” experience that consists of a suite of rooms re-dressed to suggest how they might have looked in the 1180s. The kitchens and royal armoury will also be re-created.
Nothing of the tower’s 12th-century contents has survived. To inform the design and embroidery, English Heritage historian Steven Brindle and textile adviser Frances Pritchard have studied the writings and artefacts of the era and the Bayeux Tapestry, deriving from them the conventions of heraldic devices and the colours, materials and techniques that might have been available at the time.
The hand worked appliqué, with couching, stem, split and chain and ‘Bayeux’ stitches uses crewel wool, silk floss and gold threads, true to the style of the period with added embellishments of natural pearls for the rampant lion’s eyes, blue jewel-like stones on the horse’s trappings and gold stars on the azure canopy.
RSN Studio Director, Frances Sinclair says “The RSN is internationally renowned for its 137 years of technical excellence in hand embroidery and we are delighted that English Heritage has commissioned us for this historically significant project. Our knowledge and experience of producing large scale commissions and interpreting original designs into embroidery will make a significant contribution to the authenticity of the re-presenting of Dover Castle.”
Dr Edward Impey, director of the project at English Heritage, said: “We are attempting something never tried before: a research-based evocation of the appearance and atmosphere of the interiors of an entire royal building on the occasion of a major event in the late 12th century. We couldn’t do this without the work of a galaxy of experts and talented people.”
Dover Castle is one of English Heritage’s flagship sites, attracting over 300,000 visitors a year. It is open to the public daily between 1 April and 1 November. Please call 01304 205 108 to check opening hours. The re-presented Great Tower will open on 1 August 2009.