A Cryptographic Audit of Sir Francis Bacon’s Word Cipher (1623) · New Gorhambury
The Capstone Set
A reader’s index — a keystone, then seven documents in order
Click any row to open that document. (Each links to its published page on gorhambury.org.)
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The Keystone — Two Ciphers, One Door →
What it is — the thesis in one image: Bacon’s two independent ciphers both point at the same play — the biliteral key (FRANCIS ST ALBAN) and the word-cipher keyhole (orifex), with links to Experiment One and the full method.
Where it fits — the top of the set — the single claim the seven documents below are the evidence for. Start here to see where the whole audit is heading.
1
The One-Page Map →
What it is — the entire project on a single sheet: how the cipher works, how much is proven, and the one question only the physical wheel can answer.
Where it fits — your starting point and overview; every other document expands one corner of this map.
2
The Rulebook, in Colour →
What it is — the clearest surviving description of the method — P. J. Sherman’s 1895 account — with every moving part lit up in its own colour, and links to see those parts at work in a real decoding.
Where it fits — the primary source: where the method actually comes from, before any modern analysis.
3
The Proof and the Glossary →
What it is — the one case where both a hidden message and its key survive, the seven decoded terms defined, and a claimed clue honestly tested against the real Folio.
Where it fits — it shows the method is real, gives you its vocabulary, and models the habit of testing every claim — even the ones that fail.
4
The Complete Method →
What it is — the full eleven-step algorithm, each step marked by how far it has been proven, with the hard numbers and the case for scanning the physical wheel.
Where it fits — the master reference: the spine of the whole audit, which the other documents each illustrate one part of.
5
Seeing It Work →
What it is — the method run forward on a real First Folio passage — from the entry word “Fortune” to the rare “keyhole” word that marks the hidden door.
Where it fits — the demonstration: proof the method isn’t only described but can be applied and independently checked.
6
The Bespoke Scanner →
What it is — the purpose-built rig — a phone camera on a rolling carriage over a freestanding, bolt-together gantry — designed to photograph Owen’s ~1,000-foot painted canvas in faithful colour, with complete CAD models, drawings, and a build-ready bill of materials.
Where it fits — the instrument that turns the audit’s one open question into a solvable one: the tool built to recover the last-mile order off the physical wheel.
Start with the keystone for the thesis; then read 1 → 7: orientation → the historical source → proof & vocabulary → the full method → a live demonstration → the instrument that reads the wheel → watch & explore. · Research by Walter H. Wilkinson · gorhambury.org