Tudor Trail KS3
This book belongs to: ______
leeds-castle.com Welcome to Leeds Castle This trail is designed to challenge your skills of observation and thinking about how the things you see can give you clues about the history of the castle. No two castles or royal palaces in England are identical, but there are features that many have in common. These are the clues that help you understand the story of these sites.
Here are some of the key features of Tudor architecture to look out for in the castle:
• Flattened arches, used in doorways and windows • Leaded window panes set in groups of flattened arch windows • Overall building design is squarer than earlier medieval architecture • Symmetry, for example doors and windows are often balanced in pairs or mirror images
Make your way over the bridge to the main island and turn to your right to walk beside the moat and enter the Cellars.
These cellars, which are still used to store wine for the castle, are probably the oldest parts of the medieval castle and date from 1278 when King Edward I, the great castle builder of the 13th century, fortified Leeds Castle.
The Heraldry Room This room tells the history of Leeds Castle and its owners, from the Middle Ages - the medieval period - through the Tudor dynasty to the last royal owner of the castle. It then traces Leeds Castle’s history over four centuries of private ownership until 1974.
Study the red timeline that runs around this room.
1. When and why did Leeds Castle cease to be a royal palace?
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3. Why is it likely that Edward VI did not personally make the decision to dispose of Leeds Castle? (Think: How old was Edward when he became king?)
...... The Queen’s Room
This room has been reconstructed to show how it might have looked a hundred years before the Tudor period, in approximately 1420, when Henry V and his French queen Catherine de Valois owned Leeds Castle.
4. What symbols of both France and England can you see in this room?
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5. Why do you think English monarchs used symbols of France in their coat of arms?
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6. There is a direct link between Catherine de Valois and the Tudor dynasty. What is it?
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Tudor symbolism in Leeds Castle
One authentic Tudor feature of this room is the fireplace, which was put in at the time of Henry VIII. Sketch or photo the fireplace and look out for its ‘flattened arch’ shape in other rooms.
7. What clues are there, apart from its shape, to link it to Henry VIII? (Hint: what symbol did his father King Henry VII use?)
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8. What was the meaning of the ‘Tudor Rose’ symbol?
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9. Why do you think symbols like these became so important during the Tudor period?
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Look into the Queen’s Bathroom on your way to the Queen’s Gallery. You may notice that there is no toilet in the bathroom. Although royal palaces became more comfortable during the Tudor period, toilet facilities were still very basic. So here’s your challenge: Find out what a garderobe was, and why being a ‘gong farmer’ was not the best of jobs! The Queen’s Gallery
10.Which Tudor monarch is missing from this line-up?
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11.Why do you think rich people in Tudor times often had images like this - sculptures and portraits of the Tudor kings and queens - created for their own homes?
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Look at the Tudor fireplace in this room.
12.What symbols can you see in the right hand spandrel (of the fireplace?
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Tip: The spandrel is the triangular ‘corner’ of a doorway, fireplace etc. Henry VIII’s Banqueting Hall
14.There is no portrait of Sir Henry Guildford in the castle, but what important post did he hold here from 1512?
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15.What changes did Henry VIII instruct him to make to Leeds Castle?
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16.When Henry stayed at Leeds Castle in May 1520 he would have had a huge banquet. Which of these foods would have been on the menu? o Carrots o Peacocks o Roast potatoes o Swans o Pigs o Parsnips
17. How many people did Henry and Catherine bring with them to this ‘sleepover’ in 1520?
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18. This portrait of Henry VIII over the fireplace in the Banqueting Hall is a copy. Does that mean it is unreliable as an image of Henry?
Explain your answer
Yes, because…...... OR No, because…......
19.Why do you think copies of portraits like this were made in the Tudor period?
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20.In the Banqueting Hall find the portrait of Francis I (the king of France at the same time that Henry was king of England). What similarities are there to the portrait of Henry VIII?
...... Henry VIII’s Banqueting Hall cont.
21.To what event was Henry VIII travelling when he stayed at Leeds Castle in May 1520?
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22.How did the unusual name originate?
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23.What was the purpose of the event and was it successful?
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This painting shows the event that Henry was travelling to. There seems to be a dragon flying in the picture!
24.Can you think of possible reasons the dragon would have been included in the painting? (Think back to the symbol on the fireplace in The Queen’s Room)
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Tudor/Stuart Composite Portrait
25.Name the people you recognize.
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26.James I commissioned this portrait when he became King of England in 1603. Why do you think he had this unusual portrait painted?
...... The Chapel
King Edward I built a chapel here at Leeds Castle to remember his beloved queen, Eleanor. During the Reformation, in Henry VIII’s reign, the chapel was closed and deconsecrated.
27.Which other religious places were closed down during Henry VIII’s reign?
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Now go up the spiral staircase to the first floor of the Gloriette (the name for our castle keep)
Boardroom Corridor Henry VIII added this upper floor to the castle, although in Tudor times it did not look as it does now. The rooms are mostly as they would have been when Lady Baillie owned the castle in the 1920s and 1930s. Look out for the doorframes with Tudor carvings in the spandrels on the boardroom corridor.
Seminar Room, Lady Baillie’s Rooms and Catherine of Aragon Bedroom
We know that Henry VIII had a suite of rooms constructed on this upper level of the castle keep for himself, his queen, Catherine of Aragon, and their close personal attendants.
Be aware that these rooms may have Tudor features, such as Tudor style windows, but they will all have been reconstructed during the 1920s and 1930s.
28. A) For how long were Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon married?
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B) How many children did they have?
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29. Which of Henry’s children survived long enough to be monarch in their own right?
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30.Why did Henry VIII decide to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon?
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31.What reasons did he give for the annulment of their marriage?
...... There is a rare picture of Catherine, printed much later after her divorce, to the left of the door as you go out of the Catherine of Aragon bedroom . Go down the main staircase. You are now in the part of the castle that was rebuilt in 1822.
Yellow Drawing Room and Thorpe Hall Drawing Room These rooms on the lower level of the castle are as they would have been during the early 20th century when Lady Baillie entertained guests at the castle.
Inner Hall, Library and Dining Room If the Library – with its 3,000 books - and the beautiful Dining Room are open, don’t forget to visit them before you leave the castle.
The Maiden’s Tower As you exit from the castle you will see to your left this building, called the Maiden’s Tower, which was built during the reign of Henry VIII.
This is not on the castle visitor route so you cannot see inside it. However you can see clues on the exterior that this was a Tudor building.
Look again at your booklet for the clues you need, then label the Tudor features you can see on this building.