Dummy hinges

[Bluebird]

I have noticed a number of dolls houses and film sets with tudor style doors have ornate hinges on the wrong side of the door, ie on the front of a door which opens inwards. The most elaborate I have seen recently were on the church in the movie 'The Eagle has Landed' which may have been filmed at a real church. I also just noticed that Sussex crafts sells " Ornate dummy hinges in use from the middle ages ". Were dummy hinges were used then for ornamentation, or just they are dummies for today's use? Or is there an extra fold or two not obvious at first glance, making them functioning hinges?

Thanks in advance to the DHE forum brains trust, who I know will be able to answer this so I can stop puzzling.

[Dolly donut]

dummy hinges weree occassionally used if the door had a wooden pivot hinge (much like dolls house doors today, instead of the metal pin holding it into the frame it would be made of wood) but this was only for an important or grand house from what i can gather from my research. however most times a proper hinge would be used. i dont know but i would think that the hinges of door appearing on the outside would have been for show, so that door was more pleasing to look at from the outside. people were very showy in the past i this is one reason i can think of why this would be done. it could also be that the door was not made for that building but re-used from another and that may be why the hinges are outside

[Bluebird]

Thanks Sal, I knew you would know why it is so.
We thought they probably were for show, especially wealthy Tudor homes which seemed to have a lot of grander items than I ever imagined before getting into this hobby.

[Dolly donut]

Originally Posted by Bluebird

Thanks Sal, I knew you would know why it is so.
We thought they probably were for show, especially wealthy Tudor homes which seemed to have a lot of grander items than I ever imagined before getting into this hobby.

yea i was suprised, even more so by the furniture which we think of as dark oak or jacobean oak, but originally they were painted a variety of, what today would be considered, in garish colours. it was the edwardians who came along and stripped the paint from these pieces as they preferred the look of wood.

it is certainly a fascinating time in history. until venturing into dolls housing i always preferred roman history and their buildings along with their social history. now, since researching tudors i think i would have to say that this is now my favourite period in history

[Bluebird]

Their love of colour has fascinated me too, especially the embroideries and soft furnishings like bedhangings. When you look at pictures of the garments of Henry VIII it makes sense though. Like you I had always imagined a world of drab dark oak and such.

Actually thinking of Henry VIII reminds me of an episode of Time team where they mentioned that when he travelled he took approximately 1000 servants and others in his entourage, so if you were hosting him, you needed to put them up as well. Now that is grand!

[Dolly donut]

yes , and hide you family heirlooms incase the queen should admire them, which meant you may have to have comissioned a replacement just for the king and his entourage to use when they visited which in most cases would be just the once

i was gobsmacked that over 200 people worked in the kitchens of hampton court.

[Bluebird]

lol, hide the dolls houses!

[Dolly donut]

haha yea that would be hidden first in my case