Montacute House

In September 2012, the year 3/4 classes travelled to Montacute House in Somerset, to learn about life in a Tudor Manor House.

After dressing in tabards to help us imagine that we were servants for the day, we were divided into groups and shown around the house. We started in the ground floor kitchen and travelled up the stone staircases to numerous large rooms hung with tapestries and Tudor portraits, until we eventually arrived at the long gallery. We learnt about the furniture, family life and how people dressed.

We also recognised famous paintings of some of the Tudor Kings and Queens.

Some children were then shown how to make a pomander with herbs, others practised writing using quills and the final group examined Tudor clothing. Some children were lucky enough to dress up as either a poor or a rich Tudor. The day was all about contrasts as we learnt how the rich owners’ lives compared to the poorer servants’. We really enjoyed our day at Montacute House and returned to school eager to learn more about the Tudors.

Please click on the pictures to view the gallery