10am to 4pm

The course

Learn how the weekly bake was integral to the brewing of beer. Participants will bake simple loaves using live ale barm from beer the barrels and will brew simple low alcohol ale that would have accompanied every Tudor meal and graced even the richest tables. They will use the copper kettle in the kitchen and learn when brewing emerged and how women of the past made ale until the changes in the law prohibited women from profiting from the sales of ale/beer. The bread part of the day will focus on the bread assizes and the emergence of the stringent laws governing the sale of one of the most basic food stuffs available to the Tudor person. Using the bread oven, and other simpler baking methods, the participants will bake breads from some simple bread recipes from the twelfth century to the sixteenth century.

The tutor

Catherine Flower-Bond has degrees’ in History and Heritage with further studies in Theology.  She writes, teaches and researches a wide range of historical topics including Religious Observance during the Reformation and Tudor women’s social history. She has worked with the Weald & Downland Museum as a historical Interpreter for many years and actively participates in historic cooking demonstrations for the public at many local venues and She has also appeared in historical television programs such as BBC four’s Christina of Codicote and The History of the Home and BBC2 Ready Steady Cook. She has also participated in educational pod casts for primary schools, in the much acclaimed ‘Cook It’ project.

Participant information

Places are limited to 8 people.
Please bring with you: Pen and paper, a clean bottle with a screw lid and a small air tight container/sandwich box.
Please wear appropriate clothing as we will be using real fires (long trousers from natural materials and no open toe shoes).

Fee

£60, including tuition, teas and coffees.
The Museum café will be open for lunch-time snacks or alternatively participants can bring their own packed lunch.

The Museum

The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits.  It is also home to the award winning and innovative Downland Gridshell, which houses a conservation workshop and artefact store, and is also used for many practical courses.  The Museum runs a full programme of courses in historic building conservation and traditional rural trades and crafts, along with MSc programmes in Building Conservation and Timber Building Conservation validated by Bournemouth University. Please telephone for further details.

To book, download a form here. Alternatively, fill in the booking request below.

Make a Booking Request

 
This is an initial booking request form, and does not guarantee a place on the course. The Adult Learning Team will check the availability of the course, and reply to you as soon as possible - usually within one working day.