Year 5 |
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Tudor Experience |
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21/22 January 2008 |
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Make way for the King! The children of Year 5 were given a a right royal treat when "Henry Tudor" visited our school. They have been learning all about the Tudors in their History lessons and this very special visitor helped the children to gain a real insight about what life was really like in the court of King Henry VIII. |
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Click any photograph on this page to view a larger image in a new window. |
| An Audience with the King |
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The children began the day learning about court etiquette; how to behave in the presence of the king. Some were priviledged enough to 'have the ear of the king'. They had to bow or curtsey as they approached the throne before asking the king a question. If you could ask the king just one question, what would it be? You must think carefully, as the king does not suffer fools gladly. Upset him and you may find yourself in prison... or even worse, dead! |
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Did you know...? |
When leaving the presence of a king or queen you must walk backwards, as you must NEVER turn your back on the monarch. This rule still exists today. |
| Tudor Hawking |
One of King Henry VIII's favourite past times was hawking. Tudor gentlemen would train birds of prey to hunt and kill other birds including the heron and the goose; birds far bigger and heavier than the hawks themselves. Obviously, it was impossible to practise real hawking in school. Instead, Henry Tudor showed the children how to make a gliding hawk using just paper and scissors. They then launched them to see how far they would fly. |
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Did you know...? |
The man employed by the king to look after his birds of prey was called the Royal Falconer. He was very highly regarded within the king's court. |
| Brass Rubbing |
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'Monumental brasses' were very popular in Tudor times. When important people died, instead of having graves with a headstone, many were buried in tombs inside churches. Often, these tombs would have a brass plaque with an engraved image attached to them as a memorial to the person who had died. A brass rubbing is an image of the plaque created on paper. It is made by covering the plaque with a sheet of paper and rubbing a stick of coloured wax over it to reveal the details beneath. |
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Did you know...? |
Monumental brasses can be found in churches all around the country. You must always ask for permission before making a brass rubbing. |
| Quill Writing |
During the Tudor reign, there were no computers. Typewriters had not been invented, nor were there any pens! Instead, people used feather quills to write with. When cut and dipped into ink, the shaft of the feather acted as a reservoir that held the ink and slowly released it as the person wrote. Henry Tudor gave every child a quill pen of their own and some paper to practise writing on. The children soon realised that writing with a feather is not as easy as they thought! |
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Did you know...? |
Feathers from the left wing of a bird were preferred because of their shape, as they curved away from the hand of a right-handed person. |
| Tudor Dance |
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Another of King Henry VIII's favourite pastimes was dancing. In Tudor times, the dancing would be accompanied by musicians playing instruments such as pipes, lutes, viols and a type of drum called a tabor. After changing into his finest dancing clothes (his third outfit of the day!), Henry Tudor taught Year 5 some dances to try for themselves. |
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Did you know...? |
King Henry VIII spent the equivalent of £2,400,000 on clothes every year! He never wore the same clothes twice and, after three days, he burned them. |
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At the end of the day, Henry posed for photographs with the children before leading them out on to the yard to their waiting parents. Everybody had a fantastic time, and the children certainly had a lot to talk about when they got home! |
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