Year 5 Trip - Hampton Court Palace

Year 5 had a wonderful day at Hampton Court Palace on Tuesday. It took a while before we realised that this was where Henry VIII had actually lived and began to imagine what it would’ve been like to share this space with the people we’d learned about. Just as this was beginning to sink in, we met Anne Bolyn and her brother Richard. They talked to us about life in Henry’s court and answered many of our questions.

After a brief wait in the beautiful sunshine by the wine fountain, Master James found us and explained some of the jobs that 9-year-olds would have done in Henry’s court. Everyone agreed that being a ‘Gong Scourer’ did not sound like fun as they would’ve been lowered down the pipes to clean them in the Great House of Easement (the toilet block!) We also learned the correct way for a servant to behave in front of nobility and hurried to become ‘invisible’ when Lady Ariadne appeared. Unfortunately, she was fairly ruthless and fired most of the boys anyway.

It was a fantastic day and the children behaved beautifully throughout.

Year 5 Trip - Hampton Court Palace