First, we went into the Hall and watched Mr Ball transform from a teacher into one of Henry VII's soldiers. We found out he would have been a knight in smelly armour because once the armour was on, it wasn't coming off even if you needed the toilet! We were shown all the different details that were used to protect the soldiers from arrows, swords, warhammers and maces.
Did you know, if you got wounded in Tudor times they would put maggots inside it and straw, then sew it up. The maggots would eat all the bad skin and flesh, then turn into flies and climb out the wound using the straw. Another way of helping people who were injured was weeing on the wound because it was sterile.
Next, Miss Salmon, Mrs Pape and Miss Catherall all dressed up in armour from Elizabeth I's reign. By this time there were guns being used. They were more deadly so the armour needed to protect the soldiers better. Miss Salmon was a poor soldier and she had gunpowder hung around her waist. That was very dangerous! Anyone that had a gun had to use a stick to help them aim so they don't kill the people on their own side. It also held it steady. Mrs Pape and Miss Catherall were far more important soldiers than Miss Salmon. They had much posher, more expensive clothing and armour. They undergarments they wore were much more protective and they acted as a seal if they were shot. However, the chances of Mrs Pape being shot were very slim as she would be sending Miss Salmon into battle and staying away from the attack!
After break, the whole school came outside and watched Tudor firemaking, using steel and flint. It was brilliant! Mr Ball and Mrs Pape tried it too - we think they could have done with a gas mask because they inhaled a lot of smoke!
Then, we saw some amazing archery - Martyn pulled the bow back and yelled "DRAW!" and we shouted "SHOOT!" The arrows went from the playground all the way to the end of the field. We were told they could have gone further, if we had the space!
After that, we went back to the Hall and were given a sword and a shield. We had to advanced on the teachers who used death-by-footballs to attack us! We had to make a wall using our shields. Millie scared the living daylights out of Mr Ball when she attacked him!
We were then given the chance, in groups of three, to get dressed up in arms and armour. Meanwhile, the rest of the classes went into Moore Class with Martyn and saw some fascinating instruments made from animal horns. We also saw lots of different animal hides that Tudor people would have used for clothes, blankets and bedding. There were even some toys! We found out that you can do lots more than you think you can with animal horns. We saw money they would have used in Tudor times. We found out that even though it was breaking the law, people would clip the money so they had more of it. If you got caught doing this, you would have had your hand cut off. Because we ran out of time, Martyn and Daryl very kindly stayed until after lunch to finish telling us all about weaponry. We got to hold the weapons and see just how heavy they were.
We had an excellent day and as Martyn and Daryl were packing up, TP asked, "Can you come back again?"! Martyn even offered to leave a sword for Miss Salmon to help her keep the children in line! Thank you to Hands on History for such a fantastic time, we learnt so much from the experience.
