Trip to Kentwell Hall, Saturday 24th August 2019

Ann, Jenny, Jinan, Fred and Louise travel together in one car to Kentwell Hall to see the “Meet The Tudors” weekend where we spoke to various volunteers dressed in Tudor costume who were speaking in the Tudor form of English to us. We first encountered a group of musicians playing on instruments from the Tudor period followed by a gentleman who had a red kite perched on his arm. He told us a little bit about the bird of prey, who at the time was shedding some of its feathers.

We then made a circular tour around the site watching pottage (soup or stew) being made for the workers, blacksmiths working on tools, told how wool is dyed using various plants, and we watched young men and women spinning yarn and weaving as it would have been done in Tudor times. We visited the house and observed the gentry eating their meals and also the servants in the kitchen as well as the group of musicians we had seen earlier, come into the house and perform a short comical play in front of the gentry as they sat eating their meal.

We were given a full history of how to make butter and cheese in the dairy and went into the camera obscura which is a small room with a small hole cut through and when the door to the room is shut you get a reflection of the bridge and the land outside on the inside wall of the room. Finally we spent some time in the walled garden and gardens, looked in the ice house and finished with watching the basket makers who were wisely working in the shade under the trees.

A thoroughly enjoyable day rounded off with an ice cream very kindly bought by Jenny for the group.

 Ann W.    26th August 2019