As a result of the recent improvements to The Merchant's House we are now able to offer schools a number of exciting new cross curricular sessions and experiences.
Each of our workshops are led by our expert members of staff and offer pupils the opportunity to experience day to day life in an authentic Tudor household.
Our typical school visits take place between 10am and 2.30pm but these timings can be adjusted to suit your requirements.
For full details of how to make a booking and further information about prices, please download a copy of our teachers pack.
Early Years/Key Stage 1:
Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake
£3 per child
Can you help our Merchant's daughter to finish her chores before her mother returns from the market? Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a Tudor household and discover what life was like for children growing up here - How did they dress? Did they go to school? What games did they play? This workshop includes opportunities for role play and costume experiences.
Key Stage 2 and 3:
£3 per child for a full-day visit
We offer an exciting day-long workshop for Key Stage 2. Students participate in two sessions focused on different aspects of Tudor life: 'Tudor Builder' and 'At home with the Tudors'.
Tudor Builder
Have you got what it takes to build and sell a timber-framed building? Pupils will explore our two 15th century buildings inside and out, using problem solving skills to find out about the materials and processes used to build them. Have a go at making a mortice and tenon joint, discover what exactly goes into wattle and daub and take a look at an A-framed roof and the tools used to make it. Pupils then take on the role of property agents tasked with selling the property to prospective merchants - Would they be able to convince a Tudor merchant that it was the right home for him?
At home with the Tudors
What was life like for 'ordinary' people in Tudor times? Join us for a guided tour of the Merchant's House and find out what they ate, where they slept and where they worked. Pupils will experience some of the sights and smells of a Tudor household, handle replica artefacts, dress in period costume and try their hand at a genuine Tudor activity of your choice from the following list:
- Food and drink*
- Writing
- Health and Hygiene
- Fashion and Clothing
*Regretfully, due to the cost of ingredients required in the Food and Drink workshop, we ask that schools pay an additional 50p per child for this session
This workshop is also offered as an all day package with Tewkesbury Abbey. Please contact us for details.
New for 2012!
Tudor Houses, Health and Hygiene
£4 per child for a full-day visit
This fantastic new workshop will explore health and hygiene during the Tudor period. Students will take part in three workshops, each considering a different aspect of Tudor life. The workshop has been developed to link in with both the Science and History curriculums as well as providing engaging and thought-provoking education. Set in beautiful historic surroundings, the workshops will be led by expert costumed reenactors and museum staff and provides a variety of activities and learning styles. For more information on the content of each workshop, please contact us.
Living History Workshop
£4 per pupil
The next Living History Week will take place between 26 and 30 March 2012; please contact us for availability
Each year, the Merchant's House hosts a series of Tudor Living History workshops led by professional, costumed re-enactors who transform the house into a living, breathing Tudor .jpg "Living History workshop")
household. This workshop is divided into the following two sessions:
Living History (90 minutes approx)
This is a fantastic opportunity for pupils to meet a 16th century Tudor leatherworker and his wife as they go about their day to day business.
Topics covered include: housework, food, clothing, buying & selling, health, and common beliefs.
Looking at Tudor Buildings (90 minutes approx)
As outlined above
Please note: These workshops are available for a limited period each year.
Living in the Past
£3 per child or £75 for half-day outreach
Explore how daily life has changed in the same row of houses throughout the centuries. In this session pupils will handle and compare a range of objects and primary sources, listen to accounts from former residents, hunt for clues in the building itself and develop a better understanding of how we piece together the past. This session is also available as an outreach visit. (A CD Rom is avilable to accompany this session at an additional cost, please contact use for details.
Outreach - Tudor Loans Box
This box contains a range of reproduction Tudor objects for use in the classroom. Objects are accompanied by comprehensive teacher notes and suggested cross curricular activities to support their use.
Resources include: Tudor cookware, tableware, storage jars, coins & counting board (for doing calculations), spice scales, urinals, flagons, time pieces, games, caps and even a lady's dress.
Objects can be used alongside the Thomas Workman Inventory pack - a set of reproduced documents detailing the possessions of a Gloucestershire silk Merchant from 1587. (Produced as a resource for schools by the Gloucestershire Record Office.) The pack introduces children to inventory based work and provides a snapshot of the Tudor merchant class.
Cost: £30 for two weeks hire, including a FREE Thomas Workman pack & support sheets for you to keep. £5 discount if a visit to the Merchant's House is also booked.
Please refer to the up-to-date inventory of the tudor resources for more information regarding specific items (Microsoft Word Document, 304 Kb).