Knole
Address: Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0RP
Tel: 01732 467155
Given by Queen Elizabeth I to Thomas Sackville the first Earl of Dorset in 1603, Tudor palace Knole is still occupied today by the Sackville family.
The tapestries, paintings and royal furniture in the 13 state rooms could seem a bit ‘dry’ and overwhelming to a seven-year-old, but when schools visit, pupils wear replica Tudor clothes, helping to bring the house alive. Pupils become family members and servants awaiting Elizabeth’s arrival, using their imagination to learn about social structures in Elizabethan Britain. There is also a wonderful ‘handling collection’ of Tudor artefacts.
Learning Officer Kate Ward explains: 'Children love taking part in the costume workshop. They tour the house and we give them an experience of life in Tudor times which simply cannot be given in the classroom. They learn that Sir Thomas More was a pageboy at Knole, that both Queen Mary and Elizabeth I spent time there when it was a royal palace. They view the superb portraits of the Tudor monarchs and wonder at the sheer scale of this magnificent house.'
Older pupils enjoy cross-curricular days provided for local secondary schools, which include Drama and English, as well as History. Drama students are always intrigued that Knole has an original copy of Virginia Woolf’s 'Orlando' given to her great friend, Vita Sackville-West, who was born in the house.
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Washington Old Hall
Address: The Avenue, Washington Village, Washington, Tyne and Wear NE38 7LE
Tel: 0191 4166879
Washington Old Hall is a 17th-century manor house and is the ancestral home of George Washington.
Key Stage 2 pupils studying the Tudors can visit the hall to take part in a programme of activities based around this period in time.
The children are dressed in costume, given roles and taken on a tour of the property. They learn a song and dance as well as taking part in a Tudor banquet. The programme brings to life this unit of study helping children to have a greater understanding of everyday life in Tudor times.
Children can also study the village locality and reception and use the house as a comparison to how they live today.
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Wimpole Hall and Home Farm
Address: Wimpole Hall, Arrington, Royston, Cambs SG8 OBW
Tel: 01223 207801
The education programme at Wimpole includes activities for early years students - Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 4 and post 16 groups. It places an emphasis on the interdependence of the estate.
'Victorian Living History' sees pupils dress up in costume and participate in domestic life at Wimpole on the eve of a visit from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Further Victorian activities involve unpacking a basket of Victorian artefacts, writing with dip pens and a laundry maid session where children discover how clothes were washed before the invention of washing machines.
'The Victorian Toy Box' is available for Key Stage 1 and 2 at both the hall and the farm. Dairymaids lead sessions in the dairy at Home Farm which include handling artefacts and hands-on butter making. Chick development and animal talks on the farm link with National Curriculum Science. Activities such as sowing, growing, harvesting and milling and 'The Lunchbox’ link with Geography, food and farming and Science. They encourage children to think about the seasons and where their food comes from.
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Quarry Bank Mill & Styal Estate
Address: Styal, Cheshire SK9 4LA
Tel: 01625 445888 or 01625 527468
Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate is the only complete working example of an 18th-century cotton mill with its Apprentice House - where the pauper children who worked at the mill lived. Also incorporating a village, shop, school, river and woodland walks, Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate offers education visitors a richly rewarding experience.
Quarry Bank Mill is a prime site to study the industrial revolution and the Victorians from Key Stages 1 to 4, and the education programmes on offer reflect this.
Guided and costumed discovery sessions allow pupils to study Victorian Britain and Quarry Bank Mill, and Britain 1750 – 1900. Using the Apprentice House as a setting; history through stories, home life in Britain, workers or slaves, and a day in the life of an apprentice are all explored. There are also workshop sessions on runaway apprentices, time detectives, and 'Theatre in Education' days.
Many of these programmes are cross-curricular and incorporate subjects such as Citizenship and Geography. Feedback from schools is excellent, with the living demonstrators on the machines, and the Apprentice House scoring particularly highly.
We couldn’t run our programmes without the help of volunteers and new volunteer education guides are always welcome.
We can also offer training in 'Theatre in Education' and INSET days on the above.
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Erddig
Address: Erddig, Wrexham LL13 0YT
Tel: 01978 315156
An 18th-century house with more recent additions is presented as it was during the Edwardian period, and is surrounded by a country park. Retaining fine furniture and servants’ quarters, it is probably the most evocative ‘upstairs downstairs’ house in Wales.
Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils get to learn by doing work that would have been done by servants 100 years ago in this Sandford Award winning schools programme.
Teachers’ resource materials are available for all Key Stages in both English and Welsh.
Both the house and park have specific programmes for educational groups of all Key Stages, and staff are eager to tailor programmes to specific requirements.
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Ormesby Hall
Address: Ormesby, Middlesbrough TS7 9AS
Tel: 01642 328906
Ormesby Hall was the Pennyman family home for almost four centuries before being given over to the protection of the National Trust in 1961. The Hall is an 18th-century manor house set in extensive gardens and woodlands with stables housing the horses of the Cleveland Constabulary.
Ormesby Hall's Education programme is led by a qualified teacher catering mainly for Key Stage 1 & 2, running history programmes in line with the National Curriculum. These include Victorians and Second World War activities. We specialise in a very high level of pupil involvement, such as costumed role play and hands on activities. Experience the upstairs and downstairs life of the Victorians. Learn about wartime life at Ormesby including ARP (air raid patrol), billeting, rationing, dig for victory and make do and mend.
Outdoor activities including orienteering can be arranged on the extensive estate.
All of our programmes are fully risk assessed by the National Trust.
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