The Secret 1800s Bank Vault Discovered in the Isle of Man
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Castletown was home to the inventor and playful genius, George Quayle, whose brilliant security inventions will be known to anyone who has visited the Manx Nautical Museum. But next door in his former home is perhaps his most ingenious invention; a bank vault which was only rediscovered in the 1940s.
Charles Guard takes us on a tour of the ingenious locking mechanism inside the vault of Quayle Isle of Man of the early 19th Century.
This video was used for the Manx History App:
www.manxhistory...
Filmed by Culture Vannin.
Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man. We develop innovative, inclusive and exciting projects that promote and support all aspects of Manx culture.
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What a shame more isn’t being done to preserve such brilliance, referring to his vault mechanism. Clearly an incredible man who was ahead of his time. They called him eccentric, I call him a man who thought for himself, who wasn’t influenced by society into doing what everyone else is doing, a free thinker. I wish I’d known him.
Don't know how I got here, but it's of interest.
@scratch quatro
Bellissimo.
bro
I agree started watch in gold rush haha
I was watching rare car videos 😂🤷♂️
I LOVE HISTORY SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR SHOWING THIS TO US😘😘😘
it would have been nice to see the other end of the vault, even if it was empty, to see it's depth
It if breaks down eventually you'll be screwed lol. So interesting tho!!
Not really.. If the door will not open then you would have to go outside and start to blast a hole through the walls.. The main security if these places is that they where secret and people did not know they existed..
this is the kind of guy who probably had another, more secret way to enter the vault as well as this way - I bet there's still undiscovered machinery in that building and vault
0:25 looks like he is chained to the boat lol
Awesome
Spend all that time to build a panic room.
Lost the business and income. There is a lesson to lean in here :-)
Maybe he was stealing money from the bank and put it in the vault.
It’s like One Eyed Willys booby traps to his treasure
The whole thing is of course amazing, but regarding the boat: how does something like that get sealed up and forgotten?? History is awesome.
Matt Haliadex During WWII the prisoners of Colditz built a glider in the roof. To hide it they put up a false end wall behind which the glider sat. They didn’t finish it by the time the war ended and so left it there. The castle was used as a lunatic asylum after WWII. When the iron curtain came down the survivors of the prison camp went back to have a look and found the glider still sitting behind its fake end wall!
Now we know who constructed One-Eye-Willy's cave network in The Goonies.
Haaaaaa haaaaaaa yes 👍
lol brilliant
lmao exactly what i was thinking!
Lol, classic
Those times when you couldn't trust your bank with your money.... oh wait...
😂.......😱
Same in sweden...
Now thats funny👍👍🤣🤣🤣
@@chalkfarmcarsquadso1664 back when in the south old farmers didn't trust banks so they would hollow out a gate post in their front yard and put their money down inside it for hard times . they could sit on the front porch and keep an eye on their "bank ".
@@howardwayne3974 that's basically what I was going to say. Except it wasn't just a gate post. Anything around the front yard (depending on your chill spit) would do fine
Now I have to change my security system, thanks for spreading this everywhere.
George Quayle "raised the bar" for bank security technology.
LOL!!!! clever!
*Laughs in cursive”
Very interesting! Wouldn't it be easy though, to obtain an appropriately-sized cannonball to re-create live how the whole thing worked? I would love to witness this! Regardless, thanks for the informative post.
The cannonball actuator with all the ramps and pullies kinda reminds me of 1960s-70s board game called Mouse Trap
Ban Evil my thoughts excactly
I miss that game.
That game was still around in the 90’s. I remember watching the commercial on 📺 but I never actually played the game.
I miss that game haha
That was the first thing that came to my mind also. 🐁🐁
You can’t come in until you do the truffle shuffle.....
Hey you guys!!!!
@@achunable I'm suddenly craving a Baby Ruth right now.
gotta be Goonies, right
What comes up most go down
This comment wins 😂😂 😂
The camera crew for this has done an amazing job
Sir, this was absolutely fascinating. Your lovely presentation and charming personality, was matched well with this superior design. Thank you for sharing. ♥️🇺🇸💙
The ball set off triggers that released counterweights, the ball didn't weigh enough to rotate the cam to open the door ,the little flap triggers will of pulled pegs to release counterweight, the pulleys are set to move a large wieght using as a little weight by distance of the drop .I would of presume he had a specially weighted ball so noone could use any ball to activate the mechanism, to small it drops through a trap and to big and it won't fit into the desired hole to need to operate the mech
With the complexity I assume it requires 2 or more balls of differing attributes to release the triggers, Maybe iron ball vs lead ball and varying sizes or something.
I suspect there was a sorting mechanism in the roof that is now missing that connected to the locking hammer, Also I suspect the stringing of the current drive basket is just for show and would have originally been setup to driver the main wheel once successful release of the hammer had occurred.
Incredible history, I would love to see this restored and watch a cannon ball drop drown and lift the bar !
That replica ships cabin bit, I used to dream my bedroom was like that I would have loved it...
I went on a school trip there as I live on the island. in that cabin room the wood panels in one area can pull out. I can't recall if it leads to smuggling tunnels or not but Castletown does have them under some of the old houses and buildings. There were some under the building my mum used to work in there . only certain people are allowed to go down and check on them now tho cos of health and safety, some areas have collapsed in on themselves
I worked in Bridge House many years ago, and the company I worked for gave the Manx Museum (as was) unlimited access to the vault, with the idea of getting it restored, and moving it to either the castle or the boathouse next door. I have never understood why the museum only photographed the mechanism, and left it there ....especially as the company were willing to part-finance the restoration and move. Thanks for showing it to the world, Charles.
Far better to restire in-situ than move it out of context. They need a similar 'eccentric' to get the project going. I would love to have a go - used to create mechanisms like that in school using marbles! Let's get that boat out too while we are at it! - or at least open up a window to the sea.
He is ahead of his time sort of designed a modern lift system but to serve altogether different purpose here to open a door.it should be certainly restored.
Simply outstanding, what an amazing place. I would have never have known about this man without you sharing this. Thanks!
Ok. So this mechanism is a preserved ruin? Why not restore it and make it functional? Would be facinating to watch it work.
He said they were not quite sure how it actually worked. I am a system engineer, and I would love to figure it out. I know I could it.
@@brentbarnhart5827 enquire about it
Hell No! You would destroy most of the original
You could probably try to conserve the original for future research and make a functioning replica.
Best way to figure it out would be to photograph all the parts filing how they move and reverse engineer it without dismantling then build a mini working model 😀
Looks like banking was the only thing he failed at. What an engineer & craftsman
I’m curious to know if anyone has built a model of the locking system it’s fascinating
So cool. Make me think of the movie National Treasure. Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson would have loved Mr. Quayle.
isn't it quail?
@@rhodesianwojak2095 No. The spelling of his name is given in the notes above the comments.
That moment when a rope breaks, and you can’t get into your own vault 😭😭
Parker through the wall easy if you know the vault is there bk then
Or out.
Thank god i can axe myself through this iron door or thick stone walls
Or out
I'm assuming it was "re-discovered" by some minor destruction?...
Fifury161 I was thinking that myself, then spotted the large gap above the door.
The building was probably being worked on.
WOW That's amazing !!! Brilliant !! Thank you so much for taking the time to show this and thank you to the building owner and renters for allowing you access...I found that to be jaw dropping !!! You were so cool to go down it and show it !!
Amazing when i was a kid i loved trapped doors and secret passage ways i would love to have these sory of things in my house to protect my treasures
If Quayle had a daughter, I would be afraid to date her.
Me too. She'd be well over a hundred years old by now.
Lol, yeah, they'd never find your body!
It’s a Rube Goldberg Machine! It looks like they had to break in through the top of the iron door. I hope the mechanism is restored some day.
But why at the one level to the vault was there a wood panel with exterior building day light showing through the wall?
It was probably carved out many years later.
So that the person inside could breathe
Hi from Oamaru New Zealand.
Can you show us George's photo and grave please?.
I wonder if there are many more secret compartments in that house that we don't know about? What if that Vault was merely a decoy?
"Welcome to my underground LAAAAIIIIIRRRRR."
That was great.
the mechanism at 6:16 looks like something from the Crystal Maze from the 1990's 🤪
Wonder if he took his money with him 🤔
From DIY Perks to this, thanks youtube👍🏼👍🏼
George must have known Rube G. ha, ha, just joshin'
Fantastic,I would love to find something like that.
Wow! Robbers would long get caught when trying to rob that vault. It could take a ton of time to go through all that. LOL
This video has more than ten times more views than that of the population of the Isle of Man
Those banknotes probably had value as a collectable even though the presenter made it sound like they were of no consequence.
Host reminds me a bit of the old Dad on the U.S. show 'Frasier'
the cleaners surely hate that guy, every door he has to leave all his fingerprint on.
I noticed he used two hands to open every door, but as long as his hands are clean, he won't leave any marks, it's not a polished piece of furniture, it's a door.
@@bigredc222 Even the cleanest of hands leave greasy marks behind which are a pain to have to clean,I know,I am a cleaner!
Yes I thought that very odd way to go through doors
The guy was surely related to the infamous “Rube Goldberg” and his amazing gadgets!
The cannon ball rolling in and going through the whole thing to lift the bar sounds like something Wylie E Coyote would come up with to catch the Roadrunner. Of course the ball would end up landing on his foot!
BEEP BEEP!!!
I love the Isle of Man and have visited Castletown several times, this is the first time I have heard of this secret bank vault.
OMG you wouldn't want the mechanism sticking and the ball rolling off into the corner without setting this contraption open. Love it
What if someone were to jam the tubes with something irregegular? It would be almost impossible to open...
How extraordinarily! It’s as if a cartoon character lived there.
Imagine if he met Rube Goldberg in the afterlife, and what fun they’d have building all sort of zany machines together!
Rube Goldberg is the first thing that came to my mind as well.
Absolutely fascinating, thank you
This is nifty. Love seeing this sort of thing.
Robert Shannon I love that you said nifty 🤪🤙🏻
Brilliant piece of 200 year old engineering by a brilliant banker! Who says you need to be an engineer when your brain can figure it out just like that of an engineer! Whoops ... respect to all engineers, who are not bankers! 🤗
Sounds like he was an engineer/inventor before a banker. So I guess engineers make good bankers.
@@eliphantvideo Except his bank failed.
Wonderful! Love anything IOM.
kerplunk forerunner
Absolutely beautiful work on the house and even the vault.
looks like something from the game 'mousetrap'
Now that is inventive engineering!! Would be awesome to see how it works and it in action.
TH-cam algorithm sent me here. Hit Thumbs up for the algo 👍👍👍
The contraption reminds me of the game mouse trap. This was pretty cool!!
You too! I'm old enough to remember the commercial.
Josie Flores
IKR! I thought that same thing!
@@markgigiel2722 I had that game. It was a lot of fun!
Yes, you're right. Mouse trap was inspired by some of the ideas of a cartoonist named Rube Goldberg (Google it you'll be pleasantly surprised and amused ). That's what this reminds me of, very clever and humorous at the same time.
Looks WAY over engineered for what it was intended to accomplish.
There was no report of robbery from that bank vault, so it worked.
Certainly a Rube Goldberg predecessor and student of ancient temples that used heated steam to move heavy stone doors.
I have long collected Isle of Man Cat coins... Certainly this bank was never robbed !! Thank You for a touch of genius on a small Island.
So it's an early Rube Goldberg type machine....
Are you saying that wooden construction is the original contraption? surely that is a re build? The timbers looked perfect
neat, love old buildings with hidden nook and crannys..
I wonder if he could have figured out the mess of discouraging foils and traps at Oak Island?...LOL
*"Doh! I put the vault near the boat shed: some clever heister could nick ma gold and sail away with the fortune. 😰 **_Best build a wall then._** Drat."*
Really helpful tutorial! This is gonna look great in my Minecraft world
Fantastic. An ingenious inventor. Also able to do excellent craftsmanship!
you had to place a few cannon balls in the hole, in the right order or the lever wouldn't move. so you couldn't just any ball in there to open the door
This was a very interesting video, and I'm glad that it was in my recommenced videos.
Must have SUCKED if the mechanism would malfunction inside the vault after having dropped the cannon ball lol
Thanks for good stuff.
Spending some time with the owner's great mind would be a great pleasure.
But he would have shown, demonstrated, or told us very little.
In my humble mind, I feel this man would have been taciturn as to what he knew.
I’m going to build this as the entrance to my man cave
Steeltree - homesteading with a twist Your wife will love that. 😂
and i imagine the ball had to be the exact right weight, and he would sleep at night with it under his pillow
So ...... how do you re-set the 'lock' when leaving the vault?
The whole system acts like spring load system. It requires the right amount of force coming down to get the system to lift up the locking bar. When you are leaving the chamber you can just set the system to slowly swing down as you leave. You would hear it locking after you leave.
How to transform the simple process of locking a door into a complicated mumbo jumbo of mechanics.
Once you knew how it worked you could use ANY ball of about the right size and weight to gain acess, so not very safe.
I don't quite understand..if this was such a secret place, why the narrator pauses outside the "secret" bank door that there was no way to get to except through the original door up in the room, down the stairs, blah blah blah, and there apparently is a blocked up window just behind the narrator letting daylight in...and no mention of it. WTF? Interesting contraption, though. And a hell of a house.
It's all fun and games until the cannonball jams halfway down the ramp..
..as you're standing outside waiting to push the door open..
"Oh fuck. now how am I going to get in?"
Sir, why do you carry a cannonball in your pocket?
It's the key to my secret vault.
Eccentric. 😸
Thanks for this informative and interesting video. But what I would have like to have seen you demonstrate is how he LOCKED the vault.
That is freaking krazy,
And ingenious!
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
George Quayle....aka
Wallace...
and his trusty dog Gromit
No Neck
Sorry 😐 about your condition. When I spotted your comment, I knew Grommet but couldn’t remember Wallace’s name to save my life. Thanks 🙏!
wtf?
These are all are originalparts? I think somebody must have restored it...
Others have beaten me to the “mouse trap” idea. Only a mad Irishman could build such thing 🇦🇺
.....and today we use a fingerprint to lock our stuff. This is where our ingenuity disappeared.Sad
That mechanism is like something out of Pratchett.
How about a bank vault that unlocks the door even if you get the combination code wrong but if you do get the wrong code a wall of metal spikes springs up on you when you walk in? Lol
Not sure how I got here, but that's quite an interesting tale of one man's quest to create by himself a hidden vault of which only he could open.
Seeing his cleverness makes me ponder what else exists out there in ancient castles, churches, places of great importance and also most hidden places where no one would ever look. What else is might hide just beneath the surface or behind a false wall?
Imagination is perhaps our greatest trait as a species... for without it what a dull world it would be indeed.
Very cool.
A cross between Nautical technology and Rube Goldberg . I'd say restore it.
mm if I was him i wouldn't use a ordenary canonball it should be speciel weights and seize so it works like a key maybe an aluminum ball so that if one would try a steal ball it would be to heavy ..
Very interesting.
This vault mechanism should be restored. You can tell this man did not trust anyone... and I do not blame him.