The New Murrey and Blue blog

From blacksmithing to stretching the history of Buckingham Palace…..

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I’ve been watching the interesting Sky series The Prince’s Master Crafters, about ancient skills that are in danger of disappearing. This week it was the turn of blacksmithing, and it has to be said that the ladies among the contestants weren’t very happy bashing metal and managing fire.

However, that wasn’t what caught my attention. The following is a statement by the otherwise excellent presenter, Jim Moir: “The Household Cavalry has been protecting Buckingham Palace since 1660 and the reign of Charles I)” R-i-g-h-t…

As there wasn’t a Buckingham Palace back then, they’d have a hard time protecting it. It was originally called Buckingham House and was built for George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, in 1703.  It was acquired by the royal family and became Buckingham Palace from around 1791.

So I don’t know about endangered crafts…historic facts are an endangered species too!

But the series is terrific and I’m enjoying it.

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  1. Roberta E Fagan Avatar
    Roberta E Fagan

    The Villiers Dukes of Buckingham title went extinct with the death of the 2nd Duke in 1687. Buckingham House was named for John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1648-1721), a new creation. This title likewise went extinct with the death of his consumptive teenage son.

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  2. Sharon E. Cathcart Avatar
    Sharon E. Cathcart

    I was a historical reenactor/first person cultural interpreter for a number of years and dated a fellow who was a blacksmith. It was fascinating to watch him turn random bits of metal into beautiful, useful things. It is indeed a dying art.

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  3. Glenis Brindley Avatar
    Glenis Brindley

    I watched this series too, but unfortunately I didn’t like Jim Moir as the presenter. I thought he made too much of the program about himself.
    The date you mentioned isn’t the only thing he got wrong I’m afraid, he made other errors too. It’s a few weeks now since I watched it so I can’t give you details, but there were times during each episode that I found myself wincing. It’s very sad that even programmes like this can’t get the facts right. Apart from that, I did enjoy it, and it was great to see young people learning these crafts that must be kept going. It would be such a shame if these old crafts were lost, never to be seen again.

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    1. viscountessw Avatar
      viscountessw

      Fair comment, Glenis. Yes, there were a few other bloopers, but on the whole I liked him. The errors wouldn’t put me off watching anything else he presents. Unlike, say, Lucy Worsley, he doesn’t aggravate me. She has me virtually howling at the moon! 😄

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      1. Glenis Brindley Avatar
        Glenis Brindley

        Ha, I agree with you re Lucy Worsley, she affects me like that too.
        She can also get her facts wrong and then can’t wait to get into the dressing up box!
        In fact, I’d be hard pressed to come up with anyone who doesn’t make odd bloopers on occasion.

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  4. viscountessw Avatar
    viscountessw

    Except me, of course. I’m 100% accurate ALL the time! 🙄

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    1. Glenis Brindley Avatar
      Glenis Brindley

      Of course, but then there’s always the exception to the rule!!

      Although I was actually meaning the experts on the television that set themselves up as knowing everything (when they obviously don’t.)
      Repeat things loudly and often enough in the hope most people will believe you!

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  5. Pargeting; or time to rethink the pebble-dash…. – murreyandblue

    […] narrator (the inestimable Jim Moir) had the best line in the programme. He said that after seeing all this he was “off to rethink […]

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