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THE BUCKINGHAM

TEACHER INFORMATION NOTES Moving into Words A Creative Writing Workshop for Key Stage 1

The Moving Into Words workshop lasts for 90 minutes. These notes provide a summary of the workshop, some further information and ideas for follow up work.

The Royal Mews is one of the finest working stables still in existence, responsible for the training of the horses that pull the royal . It's also responsible for looking after the state carriages, coaches and cars used by The Queen and members of the Royal Family during state occasions..

The workshop focuses on vocabulary enrichment, with particular attention to modes of transport, past and present. We use the senses to observe and imagine how it feels to travel on horseback or in a . Children are given personal ‘writer’s notebooks’ to record words and ideas. We move between discussion (saying out loud what we are going to write about) and writing down ideas, key words and vocabulary, before exploring various types of creative writing drawing on these new experiences.

The Quadrangle

The Royal Mews houses the carriages, coaches and cars used by the Royal Family. The building was commissioned by George IV from the architect in 1822.

When came to live in in 1837, the Royal Mews became a much more active place. Albert installed a new forge, and a shed where he kept a cow. In 1855, Queen Victoria established a school in the Mews for children of the people working there.

Today, around 198 members of staff and their families live in the Royal Mews, in flats around the quadrangle. They include: grooms, blacksmiths, drivers, mechanics and coachmen. The Head Coachman has overall responsibility for training staff and horses, making sure there is enough feed and forage in stock, and that harness is cleaned and horses trimmed. Each morning, staff muck out the stables and brush the horses before the horses are exercised and trained. Specialists repair and restore the carriages in a workshop on site. A single-horse carriage called a messenger Brougham (pronounced ‘broom’), with a coachman sitting on the box seat, goes from the Royal Mews every day to collect and deliver post between Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace.

The Diamond Jubilee State Coach

This coach looks like an antique, but it was used for the first time at the State Opening of Parliament on 4 June 2014. It was built in Australia and combines traditional design and craftsmanship with modern technology. The coach is drawn by six horses and requires three grooms. The decoration on coaches is always hand-painted, with about 15 coats of paint on the wheels, and up to 21 coats on the panels, including varnish. On this modern coach, the body is made of aluminium, not wood, and there are six hydraulic stabilisers to stop it swaying. The gilded crown on the top of the coach can hold a camera to film the crowds lining the route.

The interior of the coach incorporates hundreds of historical objects or materials. The window frames and interior panels include materials from , Canterbury Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, The Mary Rose (Henry VIII's flagship), , and the Antarctic bases of Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton. A British lead musket ball from the Battle of Waterloo and a specimen of the metal used to create medals, the highest award for military bravery, are also among the items built into the coach. Footmen stand on the back of the carriage as it travels. They jump down to open the carriage doors and lower a set of steps for passengers to dismount.

The State Stables

The State Stables have 32 stalls, each with a manger at the back for food and the name of a horse on a plaque hanging on the wall above. Horses at the Mews are often named after places The Queen has visited, royal names or military ranks.

Although the stables are very beautiful, with a high ceiling, arched windows and walls lined with pale green tiles, the ‘standing stalls’ are narrow by modern animal welfare standards and are not used for stabling horses today.

Horses are not the only animals to pull carriages. The State Stables contain a collection of miniature carriages designed to be pulled by ponies, goats and even dogs, as well as a horse-drawn sleigh. Every Christmas, The Queen visits the Mews for a carol service and a children’s . The sleigh brings Father Christmas and presents for all the children who live in the Mews.

The

John Wootton

George III's Procession to the Houses of Parliament 1762-1764

RCIN 402002

The coach was commissioned by George III in 1762, when he was 21 years old. It is very heavy, weighing four tons, and is pulled by eight horses. It never moves faster than walking pace. The framework of the coach is outlined by eight gilded palm trees, sprouting from the heads of lions. The palms are crowned by plumed helmets, symbolising military victory. The body of the coach is supported by leather-covered braces held by four Tritons – bearded seagods with bare chests and long, scaly tails. The Tritons blow on gold conch shells. Three gilded cherubs on the roof of the coach represent spirits of England, Ireland and Scotland. They hold up a gold crown. The panels on the sides were painted by the Italian artist Giovanni Battista Cipriani. Inside, the coach is lined in red satin with red velvet cushions.

The Gold State Coach has been used for every coronation since 1821 but not all monarchs have found it comfortable. William IV compared it to a ship tossing in a rough sea and Queen Victoria complained of ‘disturbing oscillations’.

The loose boxes

There are 34 horses currently at the Royal Mews. They are stabled in loose boxes which give them enough room to turn around and lie down. The Windsor Greys draw the carriages in which The Queen and other members of the Royal Family travel. They are chosen for their steady temperaments and stamina. The Cleveland Bays are used to collect High Commissioners and Ambassadors when they come to present their credentials to The Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II takes a particular interest in the Royal Mews. She was given her first horse, a Shetland pony named Peggy, when she was four and was riding by the age of six, and she brought her own children to visit the horses in the Mews. The Queen makes the final decisions as to which carriages will be used in state processions, and recognises and knows all the horses by name.

Follow up exercises

 Gather all the sound words you noted on your visit and add some more. Use them to write a sound poem telling the story of a day in the Royal Mews. Perhaps it begins with the horses waking up, eating and being brushed, before they go out on a training ride to get used to a noisy street. What sounds do the horses make? What sounds do they hear? Use repetition and rhythm to play with your words like percussion instruments.  Recap all the jobs that are involved in looking after the horses, carriages and cars in the Royal Mews. Which job would you choose? Write down your conversation with the Queen when she comes to visit you at work in the Mews.  Many different artists and craftspeople worked together to create the Gold State Coach. How would you decorate a coach for a special occasion today? If you could include objects of historic interest, as in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, what would they be? Working in small groups, share out different parts of your coach: one person sketches carvings for the roof, another the pictures for panels on the sides. Collage your drawings together to make the final design.  As a class, collect as many different ways of travelling as you can, from walking to cycling, sailing ship to scooter. Draw a picture of each one, and arrange them around the room in the order in which they were first used. Write words in a cloud around each picture, to describe the kind of motion each produces (for example: jolt, sway, pitch, glide).

Have you thought of visiting other locations close to the Royal Mews?

Visit Abbey and stand on the spot where and queens have been crowned since 1066, see the tombs of medieval kings and queens and find out about the Abbey’s important role today.

Information about visits can be found at http://www.westminster- abbey.org/education/uk-schools and booked through the Education Department by emailing [email protected]

Copyright: Dean and Chapter of Westminster

eLearning interactive resources The , in partnership with the London Grid for Learning, has created an online resource to aid pupils’ research and their understanding of the Royal Mews. The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace contains historical photographs, archival material, photographs of the everyday life at the mews, interviews with staff, an interactive timeline and lesson plans/activities for teachers (requires registration with the London Grid for Learning). Go to: www.royalmews.lgfl.net