NOTES FOR TEACHERS CLUES AT CARISBROOKE ACTIVITY SHEETS TO SUPPORT THE HISTORY KEY STAGE 2 STUDY UNIT Life in Tudor Times

These sheets are based on things which can be seen at Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight. As Carisbrooke is a medieval castle with later Charles I associations, its resources fit most comfortably with key stage 3 medieval and Civil War studies. However; as these activity sheets show, it does illustrate aspects of Tudor life and can therefore be used as a key stage 2 resource. The Mansion Sir George Carey was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and was sent to the Isle of Wight, a vulnerable area, to organise its defence against the threat of Spanish invasion. As Captain of the Isle of Wight, Carey lived in Carisbrooke Castle. This was an ancient building dating back to Norman times, and therefore out of date from the point of view of both defence and comfort. Carey was responsible for the building of new castle defences which made Carisbrooke one of the most modern fortifications in the country. Carey's defences were designed to stand up to an artillery attack. They completely surrounded the old Norman castle, which would have been effective against medieval siege techniques like towers and rams but not against gunpowder. Carey also expected to live in style. He had a large household which included his own private orchestra, and he entertained on a grand scale. He therefore had a mansion built in the castle courtyard, and this is the building - now in ruins - we are looking at in this worksheet. The Bed The central doorway opened into an entrance hall with a ground floor room on each side. A wide staircase led from the entrance hall to the upper floor. The upper floor had a room on each side and a long gallery at the back. The walls of the rooms would have been panelled with wood and the furniture would have been richly carved. There are several examples of this style of furniture in Carisbrooke Castle Museum, including the bed featured in this worksheet. The Gun The Carisbrooke gun, shown in this worksheet, was made in the reign of Henry VIII. At that time, each parish on the Island provided and maintained its own gun as a defence against invasion. The gun is muzzle-loading and fired 3 lb shot. FOLLOW-UP WORK Further activities could develop some of the key elements required for key stage 2 history. Carey's house could be placed in the context of the castle's history in order to show how it relates to a chronological framework. Historic sites and museums are of course excellent resources for generating questions, developing skills of observation, deduction and inference. They are also useful for illustrating concepts of historical evidence and its limitations; for example, pupils could study the artist's drawing of the mansion on sheet I and make a list of: the pieces of evidence the artist could have seen at the castle the things in the drawing he could be reasonably sure about the things he had to guess. Then pupils could compare the drawing with pictures of other Elizabethan mansions. Carisbrooke Castle may be visited free of charge by pre-booked schools groups. For information and an application form, phone English Heritage on 01983 280201.

The author Rosemary Cooper has a B.A. (Hons.) degree in History, and MPhil in Education and is Curator and Museum Schools Officer at Carisbrooke Castle Museum.