Musketeers and more!
The 'authentic' arm of The Historic Games Shop, Gothic Green Oak (in fact more a parent than an arm), has been supplying reproductions of historic games to museums, reenactors, and film, theatre and TV productions for several years now.
(Musketeers images used with permission and 
BBC)
We're very excited that some of the items commisioned from Gothic Green Oak by the BBC TV series Wolf Hall made an appearance, though there were so many fantastic objects dressing nearly every scene it was impossible to appreciate them all individually!
 | Our counting board, essential to so much of Thomas Cromwell's work, appeared several times, usually at the centre of Thomas's work desk. In episode one, Thomas's son, Gregory, disturbs a calculation in progress on the board - heard, rather than seen, as he 'tidies up' the counters, or jettons. In episode three we had a better (though characteristically dimly-lit) view. When Lord Chancellor Thomas More visits Cromwell unannounced, in an attempt to "threaten him", he interrupts Cromwell in the process of making a calculation on the board. Here's our photo of the board made for the programme, of quarter-sawn oak, with Roman numerals (from one to one thousand) for £s in the upper section, and shillings, pence and halfpennies below. |
| In episode two we had a brief glance (in the background; blink and you'll miss it!) of one of our chess boards and sets in the lodge where Thomas Cromwell removes Henry VIII's bracer as they discuss his divorce and desired marriage to Anne Boleyn, after archery practice and their walk together in the gardens. Perhaps Henry had been playing chess here earlier! Here's the board and some of the pieces nearing completion before being sent off to the production team.
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A Gothic Green Oak chess set also featured in the first episode of the second BBC series of The Musketeers, shown in the UK in early 2015!
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(Musketeers images used with permission and |
(Musketeers images used with permission and |
Great shots! (no pun intended), but here's some pics of our own of the set, to show some more of the details, taken before it left us!
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Chess set made by Gothic Green Oak for the BBC One Series 'The Musketeers' |
Chess set made by Gothic Green Oak for the BBC One Series 'The Musketeers'; detail |
The set was based directly on drawings from the frontispiece of Chess, or the King's Game, by Gustavus Selenus (pseudonym of Augustus the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg) published in 1616.
| Frontispiece from Chess, or the King's Game, by Gustavus Selenus | Frontispiece from Chess, or the King's Game, by Gustavus Selenus; detail |
You can see another similar set, also made by us, on the chess page of the Gothic Green Oak website.
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