Graffiti-covered door from French revolutionary wars found in Kent
May 17, 2024 5:18 AM Subscribe
A scratched wooden door found by chance at the top of a medieval turret has been revealed to be an “astonishing” graffiti-covered relic from the French revolutionary wars, including a carving that could be a fantasy of Napoleon Bonaparte being hanged.
Over 50 individual graffiti carvings were chiselled into the door in the 1790s by bored English soldiers stationed at Dover Castle in Kent, when Britain was at war with France in the wake of the French Revolution.
They include a detailed carving of a sailing ship, an elaborate stylised cross and nine individual scenes of figures being hanged – one of whom is wearing a bicorn hat.
The simple plank door was first discovered several years ago at the top of St John’s tower, which for more than a century had been impossible to access without climbing a ladder to the base of a spiral staircase. At the time, however, it was covered in thick layers of paint that obscured many of its markings.
Over 50 individual graffiti carvings were chiselled into the door in the 1790s by bored English soldiers stationed at Dover Castle in Kent, when Britain was at war with France in the wake of the French Revolution.
They include a detailed carving of a sailing ship, an elaborate stylised cross and nine individual scenes of figures being hanged – one of whom is wearing a bicorn hat.
The simple plank door was first discovered several years ago at the top of St John’s tower, which for more than a century had been impossible to access without climbing a ladder to the base of a spiral staircase. At the time, however, it was covered in thick layers of paint that obscured many of its markings.
What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?
posted by HearHere at 8:33 AM on May 17 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 8:33 AM on May 17 [1 favorite]
I love this stuff - the human impulse to graffiti spanning centuries. Like the Norse graffiti on a ceiling that was translated to mean something along the lines of “it’s really tall up here”… or the Pompeii graffiti that was all “I fcked yr mom” type stuff. Ppl gonna ppl.
posted by sonika at 12:50 PM on May 17 [2 favorites]
posted by sonika at 12:50 PM on May 17 [2 favorites]
So somebody removed the original staircase to the tower and they never got round to replacing it? I mean, I’m a bit slow with DIY, but…
Could be worse, seems it took about 17 centuries for the lighthouse to get renovated.
posted by protorp at 2:29 PM on May 17 [1 favorite]
Could be worse, seems it took about 17 centuries for the lighthouse to get renovated.
posted by protorp at 2:29 PM on May 17 [1 favorite]
So somebody removed the original staircase to the tower and they never got round to replacing it? I mean, I’m a bit slow with DIY, but…
This is pretty much how infrastructure work gets done in Rhode Island….
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:03 AM on May 18 [1 favorite]
This is pretty much how infrastructure work gets done in Rhode Island….
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:03 AM on May 18 [1 favorite]
More seriously:
While Pattison remains to be convinced beyond doubt that it is intended to be the French military leader, “it almost certainly depicts a particular individual being hung – and they obviously were an officer, which is quite unusual”.
It’s unusual for a bored enlisted soldier fantasizing about hanging an officer? I imagine the ones that didn’t were even more unusual.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:08 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
While Pattison remains to be convinced beyond doubt that it is intended to be the French military leader, “it almost certainly depicts a particular individual being hung – and they obviously were an officer, which is quite unusual”.
It’s unusual for a bored enlisted soldier fantasizing about hanging an officer? I imagine the ones that didn’t were even more unusual.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:08 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
« Older Another layer of mediation to an already loopy... | "this rat borg collective ended up [performing]... Newer »
posted by Phanx at 7:39 AM on May 17