Kentwell Hall - Time Travel to Tudor England

 Over the bank holiday weekend, on the Sunday after we had seen our friend Annie, CBC and I suddenly decided that we wanted to take a trip somewhere.  It was about 4pm on Sunday.  I had tried, in advance to suggest a trip to Norfolk but CBC suddenly mentioned Sudbury on the Essex/Suffolk border.  I had a look on Booking.com and found a place called Bridge Street Historic Guest House which offered a double room with shared bathroom and breakfast for £63 for the night. This seemed a bargain so we booked it, gave them a call to check they saw the booking and were able to accommodate us (they hadn't and they were) and quickly packed our bags and headed off.

The place was charming and the hosts were brilliant (excellent breakfast and I even came home with a box of their hen eggs!) I'd had a look at what was nearby and discovered by the wondrous serendipity that often occurs for CBC and I, that Kentwell Hall was nearby and the next day (Monday!) was one of their Tudor historical enactment days, this time for May Day.  

I had been here as a teenager on a school trip, my mum had taken primary school groups here and I knew it would be brilliant!  CBC was happy to go along with it but wasn't sure what to expect. Nor was I as it was 30 years since I had been there.  I was rather regretful that I didn't have anything remotely historical with me to wear. I like to theme dress when I visit somewhere! 

We pulled up in the car park in Long Melford and were greeted by the beautiful view of the church (also really worth a visit)

As soon as you go in the gate, it is a complete time travel experience. Every single person, the 200+ living historians all around the estate, except the man who is there to explain to you where to go and to give you maps, is completely in 1537 and will interract with you as a Tudor.

As it was May Day, there were lots of events going on.

My photos seem to be in a funny order, so I will just talk to you about each photo.

Here is a view from the kitchen garden, looking onto the hall.  You can see the Pied Piper of Hamelin topiary.

The moat surrounds the manor. There are resident geese with goslings and Heron and many fish!

The May Queen was carried on this cart.

There was a parade to the manor where a play of St George and the Dragon was presented (very funny!), the parade went to the May tree and the maypole for dancing and music.

Everyone had the opportunity to make themselves a circlet with wild flowers, May tree cuttings and foliage.  CBC made this one for me.

I'm not sure how we got into conversation but when I was talking to the musicians, I asked if this was a Gittern and she said yes.  It came into the conversation that I was a musician and she asked if I would like to try her Gittern as I was a musician and could be trusted! I was unbelievably excited. It was tuned similar to a ukulele except that the string at the top was lower, rather than higher. 

Then, the most exciting event of MY ENTIRE YEAR happened.  I somehow must have expressed my utter excitement at seeing a hurdy-gurdy being played in real life (I have only ever seen them in videos!) and then, the musician asked me if I would like to try it!!!!

I have been telling my children at school that the hurdy-gurdy is my favourite instrument for YEARS and how much I'd love try or own one!

The woman on the left is playing a Rebec which is an ancestor of the violin. The man on the left is playing the Hurdy-Gurdy.  If you have never seen a Hurdy-gurdy before, it is an ancient string instrument from Medieval times.  It has strings and it works by turning a wheel which rubs/bows the strings (like a violin but the bow is a wheel instead of a stick!). It has drone strings which just play the same continual two notes, five steps apart from each other all the time. Then there are the melody strings.  You have a keyboard which you press and it presses down a small piece of wood at equal intervals along the string to raise the pitch).  In the picture below, he has lifted up the cover which goes over the melody-strings so you can see where the mechanism presses. and he has taken the cover off the wheel-bow so you can see where that turns.

There is also some strings called the Trumpet strings that operate when you turn the bow faster to make a more buzzy/stronger sound. That's the sting up on the top on the left.

Can you see the sheer joy and exuberance on my face as I play the Hurdy-Gurdy!  FYI, I am playing a Tudor dance melody called Branle des Sabots (which is the Clog Dance)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kezzie (@kezziesquirrel)

Next, after relucantly handing back the Hurdy-Gurdy, We headed over to the Tavern and bought a drink. CBC had a jug of ale and I had elderflower

We had a game of 3 stone tic-tac-toe which works in the exact way as the normal game except you have 3 stones (Black versus white) and once you've placed your third stone, you then move one of your stones to place in your next position.

We also had a go at Five-Men's Morris. You both have two stones and you can only move along the lines.  The winner is the one who manages to trap your opponent so they cannot move forward.  Some of the living historians showed us how to play.  There was also Nine-men's Morris but some other people were sitting there.

You can see the dancing round the May Tree (you could also tie ribbons on) and the musicians in action.

Above, you can see the parade towards the manor.  The dragon is there.

The May Queen and her attendants.  Many of the living historians bring their children along who act in role too.

Here is one of the ancient Cedars, carved.

Over near the stables, we saw and talked to different artisans.  Cobblers, Wrights, Potters, Dyers, Gelters, Basket Makers, 

None of them pose for the camera.  We were told at the entrance, that our cameras didn't exist for them.

Shoe repairing going on here.

We very much enjoyed the Apothecary.

Above was where the ale was made. The alcohol content was very low and it was one of the few sources of vitamins in the winter.

There were two types of bread for the rich and the poor.

Near the moat, we saw the family of duckling and goslings making their way into the water.

More of the Pied Piper topiary

The view from the bedroom window.

A view in the state bedroom where the queen stayed.

The bathroom was wonderfully opulent with amazing mosaic work.

Double toilets.

The bathroom was wonderfully warm.

In this room, the feast was taking place, we arrived just as the kitchen staff brought in all the dishes they had been cooking for the lady of the manor.

Look at this beautiful ceiling...

And here is the plan of it.

Every single living historian was willing to answer questions.  The food smelt amazing!

In this room, the records were kept.  We learnt about how to use their Roman numerals like an Abacus. Everything was so cleverly explained.

In this room, the sugar-workers were preparing dainty painted biscuits based on playing cards for the guests.

Look at these tiny pastry animals!

In the great kitchen, we saw everything being prepared and cooked.  Again, everything smelt tantalising!  CBC asked many questions!

I didn't take any pictures at this point but we also visited the Smithy and the workers in the woods and made some clay beads.  

We ate a delicious lunch in the restaurant.

There were so many places we didn't manage to visit in time and so many things I hadn't shown you in my pictures.

The Mummers George and Dragon play took place on the maze here.

Finally, before we left, we saw the musicians again at the tent and my first musician friend let me quickly try her rebec (no pictures sadly) before we left.

CBC and I had had an absolutely magical day and both of us are utterly certain we want to go back for another reenactment day.

You can visit Kentwell Hall outside of these times and explore the site and I think that is utterly worth it.

I would travel a very long way to come back here again and I cannot recommend it highly enough! It was well worth our £22 entrance fee. (Cheaper on non-enactment days)

Visit the website for more details. There's not just Tudor events.

Coming up: (more on the website)

23rd May-25th May: 11-5

Kentwell through the ages 

The ultimate day of time travel!  Witness over 2000 years of history and immese yourself in the past. Watch, question and take part in activities from BC to AD as different eras are broought to life by Kentwell's skilled living historians

.

20th-21st, 27-28th June 11-5

Tudor Midsummer

Join us in the year 1553! King Edward VI is on the throne and village life continues here on the manor. See, hear, touch and smell the 16th century England brought to life by over 200 of Kentwell's skilled Living Historians and explore the crafts, food, music, cooking, dancing and gossip that come with village life.

Beethoven's Birth house museum.

In Half Term, CBC and I travelled to Germany for our holiday.  CBC LOVES a nomadic holiday- a few days here and there before moving on. It's fun but does end up with lots of travel and can be more expensive. (especially when you only book the accommodation at 5am of the morning you are travelling)

Our first day, he had his Garden Design course so we didn't travel till afternoon and we were driving so after we travelled on Le Shuttle through the Eurotunnel which ended up being an hour and a half delayed, we ended up in a small town near Brussels around 10pm local time.  We stayed in a B&B which was pleasant but simple and then departed the next morning.  We drove for several hours through Belgium and then Germany and decided to stop off in Bonn as we wanted to visit Beethoven's birth house museum.

We parked in a multi-storey carpark off the main street in Bonn and walked to the museum.

Here it is.

I was SO happy to be in Germany as I hate being that tourist who doesn't speak the language or does so badly. I did A level German and adore speaking German even though I have forgotten a lot in the 26 years since I stopped speaking it regularly. It was so nice to be able to communicate in the language. CBC, who doesn't speak German, was very relieved.

You download an app to your phone that will play you audio about each exhibit which is really handy.

The museum is divided into different exhibitions and rooms.

• Beethoven perceived by his contemporaries
• Bonn in times of transition
• Work and Everyday life
• Network. Friends
• Network. Patrons
• Network. Loved ones
• The Artist and his Work
• Blow of fate

We started off in the room with images of Beethoven himself.

I loved the Beethoven bust by Franz Klein, 1812.

It was an authentic representation of the composer. He used a plaster cast of Beethoven's face.  The composer allowed the plaster cast to be taken twice after a panic the first time when he thought he mgiht suffocate.  The only part that was formed later was the eyes as these were obviously closed for the cast.

Two of his friends from the Streicher family commissioned this work of him.  They owned piano factory and they had busts of favourite composers such as Schiller and Haydn and Andreas Streicher who was also a respected composer.

This small miniature was by Christian Hornemen from 1802, Danish painter, during his stay in Vienna. He used the finest paintbrush onto ivory. This shows Beethoven, 31 year old, the first high point of his career where he was truly feeling  and perceived as successful.  He had fashionable look- he was the desired guest of every Viennese salon.   He apparently wasn't usually this well coiffed.  He was often described as being scruffy and didn't like having to dress up.!  He was fond of this small portrait. He gave this to Stefan Von Broining,  a childhood friend, as a peace offering after a fierce argument.

The most famous portrait of Beethoven.  By Joseph Stieler.  He was a highly regarded portraiture of the time.  Beethoven sat 4 times for this portrait. It was unusual for Beethoven to sit still for any length of time so this is quite special. It's the best depiction of him. This is only portrait that actually shows him composing. He holds the  Misse Solemnis score in his hand.  He had a  serious discussion with Stieler to discuss which  work and which page should be depicted.  He chose the Credo.

The forest background expresses Beethoven's love of nature. Stieler created an idealised image of Beethoven. 

For me, this portrait is the most famous image of Beethoven I know so to stand in front of it was pretty special!

The Credo depicted. Have a listen as you read on.

I was very excited to see Beethoven's viola! I didn't know he played the viola! He played this instrument from the age of 19. He was a violist with the royal court orchestra.  He was also the organist for this ensemble.  He got to know and play most of the well known  repertoire of the day through this job. He began music aged 5 with his father Johann on violin.  His father was very strict and told him off for poor playing, at least according to a family friend so it's hard to know how mcuh was true.  We know that Beethoven's first concert was aged 7 in Cologne by his dad. He began organ lessons and then violin with good teachers, sought by his father.  He also attended Elementary school but not secondary school as apparently he wasn't very good at languages or maths!

This is the parts of the organ he played at the time.

This model of the city of Bonn at this time was really interesting to look at and from a child's view, looks incredible.

One thing I loved was seeing Beethoven's manuscripts before they were copied by a copywriter for publishing.  I found it all very scruffy and hard to read so I am glad that wasn't my job!

One thing that many know about Beethoven was that he lost his hearing completely by the end of his life. This is extremely difficult for anyone this happens to. For a musician, this is and must have been utter torture. 

Here was a collection of his various ear trumpets.   The museum taught us that he tried many quirky treatments for hearing loss.  He also had conversation books where his friends would write replies to things he said.  It seems like he was very grumpy and rude!

Another score.

Here's the exterior garden.

I haven't shown you everything, just a few little highlights.

There was a lovely listening room for his Juvenilia with earphones and a lovely chill out room where there are sometimes live performances.  They played a recording of his Moonlight Sonata with a screen that highlighted the notes on the original handwritten score.

We loved the museum but were now very hungry.

We found a patisserie round the corner.

I ate this wonderful chocolate and hazelnut mousse!

Here's a massive dummy in the shop of Beethoven!

After this, CBC ended up buying one of two little souvenirs. I ended up buying a lovely little leather violin keyring in a gift shop opposite which I plan to wear on my belt as a cute little charm!  This was my only holiday souvenir.

We had a bit of a panic with the machine in the carpark as it wouldn't accept our payment but had taken the card and the money.  Curiously, it had a 'call for help' button on it. I called it and in my German, I tried to explain it had taken our money and now wouldn't give anything back!  Miraculously, they managed to make it work remotely and all fine!

It was now time to drive to Frankfurt!  We found bargain hotel in Frankfurt called Hotel Cult. We paid £46 for the night in a double room including amazing buffet breakfast. We found free parking on the street. I'm not too fond of the overly stodgy and meaty traditional German fare and I didn't want this for a whole week so I looked up something local and that night, we walked down the street to a lovely family run Vietnamese restaurant for dinner where vegetables were plentiful!

I should state something gutting I realised on the day we there.  Originally, we had been planning to stay in Darmstadt as that was near the location we needed to be the next day. I discovered that THAT very day, in DARMSTADT, was the famous German Doctor Who convention, Timelash, which I have wanted to attend for a few years and Paul McGann, the Doctor Who actor I have always wanted to meet was there.  I was literally going to be in the town on the day of this German convention! Sigh...another time.

x