Tudor workshops

Tudor Workshops

What do we actually know about the lives of ordinary people in Tudor times? We undoubtedly know more about the lives of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I!

Our workshops (which are in the process of being tweaked slightly to take account of current circumstances) will help to bring this period to life.

Instead of content delivered via workshops, a series of shorter activities spread around the museum may prove more suitable – please get in touch and we can discuss your needs.

Expand the sections below to find out more about our Tudor workshops.

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Overview

Duration

1 hour

Maximum Number

15 children per group

Suggested Key Stages

KS2–KS4

Workshops

Tudor Apothecary KS2–KS4

Duration: 45 minutes
Maximum numbers: 15 children

The Tudor Apothecary workshop considers and explores the role of the apothecary, and access to medicine for the general population in the sixteenth century.

The children will make pomander beads, sweet smelling balls which were used as a prevention against disease in the Tudor period. This will encourage the children to explore the different concepts of health and illness held by the Tudors in comparison to modern medicine, particularly the idea that it was bad smells that carried disease.

How to Book

Please call our schools team on 01243 811459 or email schoolbookings@wealddown.co.uk

Risk Assessment

Tudor Apothecary workshop (473Kb, PDF)

Tudor Games KS2–KS4

Duration: 45 minutes
Maximum numbers: 15 children

Tudor Games is a hands-on experience with board games and outdoor toys which would have been used by Tudor children.

The children investigate the evidence for toys and games by studying an urban landscape painting from the 15th century. The children can then try the games and toys for themselves using our replicas. They will pair off to play Nine Men’s Morris then venture outside to try their hand at skittles, sticks and hoops and many more.

The workshop offers the children an opportunity to imagine life in the Tudor period through comparison with their modern lifestyles. They will learn to examine and extract information from historic sources (in this case a painting) and then apply that knowledge to practical activities.

Please note that the toys mentioned are examples and may be subject to change. If it is raining the leader may opt to keep the children inside and focus on indoor toys.

How to Book

Please call our schools team on 01243 811459 or email schoolbookings@wealddown.co.uk

Risk Assessment

Tudor Games workshop (472Kb, PDF)

Tudor Farming KS2–KS4

Duration: 45 minutes
Maximum numbers: 15 children

The Museum has a recreated Tudor farmstead with traditional livestock and rare breeds. The farmyard also has a Tudor barn dated to 1536 with replica farming equipment on show including a medieval cart, harrow and threshing equipment such as a flail and a winnowing basket.

The session will include a look at livestock and their uses in a Tudor farmstead and the Tudor farming year for arable crops. Time is spent looking at Cowfold threshing barn and the process of threshing, and pupils will have the opportunity to have a go with the flail or winnowing basket.

How to Book

Please call our schools team on 01243 811459 or email schoolbookings@wealddown.co.uk

Risk Assessment

Tudor Farming workshop (473Kb, PDF)

Tudor Textiles KS2–KS4

Duration: 45 minutes
Maximum numbers: 15 children

This workshop considers the fabrics and clothing of historic periods, including methods of manufacture, properties of different materials and the practical and social elements of the outfits. The workshop is usually held in the solar (living/sleeping space) of Bayleaf, a late medieval yeoman’s farmhouse with Tudor extensions.

Children will consider the amount of time involved in making clothing from the fleece or flax and the homemade nature of clothing, in relation to the modern clothing industry. The children will handle and then card (comb) wool. By hand spinning the wool they will test the strength and properties of the wool, with appropriate explanation of the scientific properties of spun wool. Wool will be compared to other fabrics, for example leather and linen.

Two children (one boy and one girl) will get the chance to try on full period dress, including undergarments, over their clothes. The leader will explain the purpose of each item, including its social meaning (for example covering the head). Hygiene and practicality will also be discussed.

As the Museum specialises in everyday life in the past, the fabrics and clothing will reflect those used by the lower classes.

How to Book

Please call our schools team on 01243 811459 or email schoolbookings@wealddown.co.uk

Risk Assessment

Tudor Textiles workshop (473Kb, PDF)

Everyday Elizabethan Experiences for GCSE KS4

Duration: 45 minutes
Maximum numbers: 15 children

What was life like for the average Elizabethan? Go undercover in the home of Thomas Wells, a yeoman farmer in the area of Chiddingstone in the county of Kent. Here you will take on the role of a servant and complete a series of challenges to help you gather as much information as possible about the lives of common people in Elizabeth’s England.

During the course of this 45-minute workshop students will be presented with a series of challenges designed to help them discover what everyday life was like for Elizabethans outside of the high drama of the court. What clothes did they wear? What food did they eat? What chores did they do and what games did they play?

Set in the area around our 16th century farmstead, this session provides an insight into the living conditions for the rural masses, in contrast to the lives of the rich in this time period. Students will have the chance to explore the materials they used, experiment with dressing as a Tudor and have time to play some traditional Tudor games while completing their ‘spy mission’.

How to Book

Please call our schools team on 01243 811459 or email schoolbookings@wealddown.co.uk

Risk Assessment

Everyday Elizabethan Experiences workshop (473Kb, PDF)

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