Yeah all right what what I'm finding interesting is I thought I would be
all over you with this yeah; I thought I'd really have the
edge. Hi it's Tod from Tod's Workshop and Tod Cutler here and I am back with Joe Gibbs. Hello.
At Stanton Harcourt Manor House. This amazing place that was besieged by a bunch of archers in
1450. Now we just did a film where we're shooting for distance and it significantly improved things
from shooting up there but of course an attacking force is not going to be 300 yards in the distance
they're going to be up close. So we've got crenelations today that we can go and play with
and all those questions we want to know about. Can you shoot straight down, can you shoot over there,
is a crossbow better, is a longbow better, what are the practical implications of shooting from
that very place where they were shooting in 1450. Should we go find out? Let's do
it. This is actually amazingly awkward because the windlass
handles pretty much dragging over the stairs at the front. It's also quite
tiring. Oh well it's got properly awkward now because the roof is coming in and this thing's
actually about 1.2 M long, about 4ft long, so I'm just going to swap it. It's all so heavy.
Anyway see how there. We're back on top of Pope's Tower here in Stanton Harcourt and we
have three of our Knights set out in the garden there below, so there's one about sort of 20 odd
yards away and then getting closer. Now the reason for that is of course we know that you can shoot,
as we saw in the last film, a long distance, but what happens when the guys come in close.
The thing is this is not a castle, it's not even a fortified manor house. These are effectively
decorative but they were used in the siege of 1450, you know people shot from here,
were shot at from here, we do need to bear in mind as we try things out that actually castle walls
are very often a lot thicker than this. So who's first, you or me? I think you should go first
really because you love heights. Yeah do not like. As ever there's a little bit of preparation with
these things this is where Joe is just standing in the back laughing and laughing. Okay we're in
But you know today is a day to try and work out a little bit what these were all
about. Now you can shoot downwards, this is a bit awkward because health
and safety wasn't going to be an issue in 1450, it is a little bit
now. Right Joe I think it must have hit a big bit of timber in the target but it was
basically shoulder. Sounded good though, sounded good. Right your turn. So I got
to be careful of my limbs yeah on there and on the floor I mean it is awkward,
the whole thing is awkward, it's it's very awkward especially with a heavy bow.
Yeah yeah all right just in this. So nice one! Okay that's interesting I mean I have to stand
right back and the whole thing is just it is difficult. Yeah it was very difficult for me.
Actually I was I think I'm going to really struggle with the next two. You know I watch
you shooting in a field and you are going through a very particular set of movements,
this is restricting you like heck. Yeah there's there's a lot of stuff going on in the way and
I'm not used to it. And also this is the whole point of coming right down. You want to keep a
straight up back as possible and I'm having to bend right over and start start bending
the spine and it you know all right it's it's going to be hard work. What I would say is you
know don't hurt yourself. I don't know maybe they used light weight bows or something like
that. In this situation I don't know because obviously they're going to know that it's a
problem.
Right, centre chest. Did you get
here oh nice shot! Yeah okay but you know what though, again Arrow versus Armour trials that
would have bounced off, would have done nothing. That's true you know we've seen it does nothing;
face shot, that's what I wanted and actually that's what I missed. Okay let's have a
go; just over. Yeah more to the point though how did you feel?
I mean if I said to you right, one after another,
30 of them. Not another 30 but I would like to just do one more really, same guy. Yeah take it
away. So I'm going to say our nearest guy certainly and this is clear as you like,
our nearest guy if I was a bit worried, a bit sweaty, a bit people are shooting at me;
I'm not going to be able to hit him because you know I've got around here it's all, it will go
wrong. So actually I'm just going to back out. That nearest guy is which is he's still 12 yards
from the edge of the tower 12, 12 M and I can't touch him actually. Now if I lent right out the
crenelations yeah yeah but then my whole body is exposed. I'm having to wind myself out and my bow,
nobody's going to do that, no. So next time you besige a Castle you're going to stick close to
the walls yeah. But I suppose there's there's going to be that sweet spot isn't there? Far
enough away people can't dump stuff on you yeah, but close enough they can't adequately shoot you.
So can you shoot that that guy near us? A bit like yourself I can't, I could if I had a light a bow,
I could probably hang out and uh and do a sneaky little shot through there, but with this one I
can't lean out of there, not a hope. But I'm I might just give it a go from here if I can,
just if I can just get it down there. I want to have go really what what I'm finding interesting
is I thought I would be all over you with this, I thought I'd really have the edge
and I don't. The advantage that I thought I'd really have by shooting closer I haven't got.
No actually it's a day of disappointment for me. Let's give that a closer one a
go. Okay
Hold on a minute, I couldn't quite get low
enough, can't do that low one, just can't get that angle. Interesting yeah my whole shoulders
are offline and everything. it's probably with a like a 100 lbs bow, 80lbs bow yeah yeah could just
about do it but not with this. So looking at that document as well, they say over that 6 hour period
1,000 arrows shot, but only one guy was killed. Really. Yeah which is like pretty rubbish return
really on your investment in arrows but it does mean that the guys sheltering here must have been
sheltering quite well you know. How would you defend this place to not get shot? So obviously
I'd load up, put it on the string and then you'd have to step out into into everyone's field of
fire, really wouldn't you uh and then pick your target draw up aim and go that's that's you know
second second and a half yeah. Because you've got all the fumbling around of stepping out,
looking and then coming back down that's that's a long time and then I suppose you probably had
a quick couple of peeks generally, so you know where you're going to be going your head out
maybe. I don't think I'm really going to be that much different, so I'm, you know I slightly have
an advantage although it's slower I can actually sort of crouch here but even doing that I've still
got massive exposure there and there. You it's not like I'm hidden so you know I would' be more
inclined to go away from the edges really because you know arrows are still going to come in there
and then once I am actually spanned and then you can crouch down where I'm basically immune from
shot and then you can stand up bam and down. And that's probably the quickest way that I can do it;
you're not going to be able to do that, so at least that's one slight advantage. But it's
not the game changing advantage that I thought crossbows might have in a situation. So yet again,
audience explain to me why they were so good, I'm struggling even though I love them so I think it's
a pretty straightforward conclusion really if depressing for me. So I thought I'd have this
one in the bag and that I would be able to do things here that you can't and that's actually
not the case. So there might be a very slight advantage in me being able to have cover when
I'm shooting but not that much. I have to expose myself too, I can't shoot down like actually I
thought I probably could not, not realistically. I'm going to be hanging out and be a beautiful
target. I can shoot basically the same targets that you can shoot, maybe I can go a bit longer
because with your heavy bow you are going to end up hurting yourself and it's not going to matter
to me. And you are not going to have unlimited missiles either so the fact that you can shoot
10 shots in a minute doesn't matter because you're not going to. So I think that's probably
where the advantage comes, I can keep up awkward shooting. Actually that is probably where it is,
I can keep up awkward shooting better than you can keep up awkward shooting. Maybe it's just as
simple as that. Really it was very awkward for me to be honest and that's with skinny walls
not even fat walls like you get in a castle. I think I'll settle on that as a conclusion,
I can do it for longer than he can do it. Not as exciting an outcome as I wanted. Anyway
right let's have another last go at that far guy there. We're going to go for accuracy this time,
accuracy. Right then so 10 pints for a face shot, two for a chest shot.
Okay what did you get I got him here, oh no but not here.
That's a the bottom limb. Oh really? Yep you can see the uh little scratch see the scratch look
where it yeah so that's put that, otherwise that shot would have been perfect. Is that
right? Okay well I completely believe that. So Joe for the very first and probably last time
in my life I have just out shot you! Well done guys. Thank you very much. Anyway for
us it's definitely been an education, so Joe thank you. It's been great. Thank you. See you
again.