This week in 4F, we were travelling back in time to the Tudor era. We had a simple goal, to discover how the Tudor justice system was different to our own.

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We began by looking at some different Tudor artifacts and attempting to work out what they were and how they may have been used. Many children were outraged to discover what the 'Scolds Bridle' was, instantly calling out how unfair it was that this punishment was reserved for women. 4F were shocked and disgusted to learn that instead of helping the poor and the homeless in Tudor times, they punished them severely sometimes even having them hanged.

We had fun discussing what might be used as evidence if you were ever accused of witchcraft in the Tudor times, with many of us finding we would meet some of the criteria. For example: almost half of the class has a pet cat and more than half was born with a birthmark or enjoy walks in the woods or picking flowers and herbs. Many of the children were able to come up with strategies to beat the 'ducking stool' but were disappointed when they realized that if you survived the ducking stool people in Tudor times took that as confirmation of your witchy nature and would then have you burned at the stake!

The punishment that most children found the most awful was the rack. Many of them were horrified to hear just how terrible this punishment for treason was. They were even more shocked when they learned that the law which made it so treason was punished by death was still around until 1998 when many of their parents were in school!

After learning all about crime and punishment, we held a mock Tudor court and passed judgment of some troublesome characters. Different children were given characters to represent and a story to share, then the class would decide first, what their crime was and second how they should be punished. In the end, we decided things are definitely better now than they were back in Tudor times.

Stay tuned for updates as 4F continues their adventure through Tudor times!