Leather hangings hung with Velcro

See all of the historical leather hanging Enlarge Image

Dunster Castle's world famous gilt leather hangings have been rehung using simple, modern technology - Velcro.

The delicate task of sewing a new Velcro backing strip to the leather hangings and then the matching strip to the wall was carried out by a specialist textile conservator.

The castle's house manager John Wood said velcro is used in case they have to take them off the wall quickly, for example in a fire.

Two of the leathers were removed during building works last year and have been on display on temporary frames as National Trust staff decided on the best techniques to use.

Although the exact provenance of the leather hangings are unknown, it is likely these are Dutch and date to the late 17th century.

It is believed they probably moved to Dunster Castle in the early 18th century and were certainly on-site by 1741.

Only a few other examples of this style of narrative gilt leather are known to exist, all on continental Europe.