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Tudors take over the History Centre

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Oct 27, 2009

Tagged in: Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre , waterlogged wood , visitors , Tudors , Tudor badge making , thousand people , The Other Boleyn Girl , technology , strong rooms , Stone Age hand axes , signed letter from Elizabeth I , shoot arrows , Science Museum; giant interactive Tudor Quiz , school , recent events , rarest documents , quill pen , original artefacts , naval ship , Mary Rose , Mary Queen of Scots , marriage deed of Henry VIII to Jane Seymour , magnetic wall , longbow , King Henry VIII , ideas. , Great Chalfield Manor , glass painting , fun , freeze dry , film , emergency car-park duty , dressed as Tudors , dress up , crew , craft activities , courtiers , Conservators , conservation laboratories , comment , children , celebrate , 26th September , 2010 Open Day

Wow, what a day! Over a thousand people came along to meet the Tudors at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, on Saturday 26th September. King Henry VIII and his courtiers were on hand to greet visitors as they joined in the fun, meeting the crew from the Mary Rose and looking at original artefacts from Henry’s great naval ship; learning how to shoot arrows with a longbow and dress as a Tudor; and viewing some of the History Centre’s rarest documents from the Tudor period including the marriage deed of Henry VIII to Jane Seymour and a signed letter from Elizabeth I about her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, just some of the thousands of historic documents about the county contained in the History Centre.
King Henry VIII looking at his marriage deed
King Henry VIII looking at his marriage deed

They were also able to check out Tudor technology with the Science Museum; have a go at our giant interactive Tudor Quiz; see how the film ”The other Boleyn Girl” was made at Great Chalfield Manor; write with a quill pen and find out how conservators freeze dry waterlogged wood. Glass painting, Tudor badge making and other craft activities were also taken up with enthusiasm by our younger visitors. Another popular attraction and predating the Tudors by a few hundred thousand years was the Stone Age hand axes. Visitors were also able to gain exclusive behind the scenes access to conservation laboratories and strong rooms.


One of the strongrooms only accessible during the Open Day 
One of the strongrooms only accessible during the Open Day

We were really pleased that more than 400 of the visitors were children, some came dressed as Tudors. Many were learning about the Tudors at school, so hopefully we were able to bring a little bit of it to life.  Everyone was encouraged to post a comment on our magnetic wall so please take time to read them all if you are visiting the Centre in the near future. We also asked people what they did not enjoy (we are always looking to improve) and one young visitor told us that he or she “didn’t enjoy nuffing”. So there you have it! How did our staff feel about the open day and what do you think would be a good theme for next year? Please 'read more' to find out and have your say....








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500th Anniversary of Henry VIII

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Apr 7, 2009

2009 marks the 500th anniversary of the accession to the throne of King Henry VIII. The future king was the second son of Henry VII, born at Greenwich on 28 June 1491. He acceded to the throne on 21 April 1509, following his father’s death. Henry’s reign saw the dissolution of the monasteries and the establishment of the Church of England, as well as wars against France and Scotland. However, he is perhaps most famous for his private life – school children down the ages have learnt the little rhyme “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived” to try to remember the fate of Henry’s six wives.  
Deeds of properties given to Jane Seymour by Henry VIII 
Deeds of properties given to Jane Seymour by Henry VIII
    
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre holds several documents relating to Henry’s third marriage to Jane Seymour. Henry became engaged to Jane, who was already his mistress, a mere one day after the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn on 19 May 1536. Jane Seymour was the daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wolfhall in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire: the couple were married there on 30 May 1536. Henry gave his new queen a large number of estates and manors by way of a settlement. These three documents, (see above image), from the archives of the duke of Somerset in the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, are the title deeds to the properties.
Close up of deeds of properties given to Jane Seymour by Henry VIII
Close up of deeds of properties given to Jane Seymour by Henry VIII
Although they lack their seals, which have been detached and lost, they each have a portrait of Henry and lavishly decorated initial lines. In 1537 Jane died in childbirth, giving birth to Henry’s only son, who later became King Edward VI. It is widely accepted that Jane was Henry’s favourite wife - after her death the court went into an extended period of mourning, and Henry was buried next to her after his own death in 1547. 


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