Tudor Quayside with That History Bloke

We had a brilliant tour of Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside yesterday with That History Bloke. Richard's passion for history certainly came across and the children were interested immediately due to his Henry VIII costume! 

We started in St Mary's Heritage Centre in Gateshead and learned how to bow and curtsey. 

Richard explained some Tudor games and toys and we played cup-and-ball, spinners and 21's with dice.

We walked over the Swing Bridge, spotting St Nicholas's Cathedral and the Castle Keep, which are around 1,000 years old so would have been there in Tudor times. Richard showed us some photos of the Tyne Bridge in Tudor times, which was a bustling market area. We discussed which goods were imported on ships then role played trying to sell our items. 

Over the bridge we looked at pictures of the flood that destroyed the original Tyne bridge in 1771. We then visited Bessie Surtees House, an original Tudor building. We completed a search and find activity for various objects then discussed them. We also looked at various Tudor artefacts and completed a worksheet. We talked about the differences between rich and poor in Tudor times by looking at typical items of clothes.

This tour was enjoyed by everyone and we left feeling fully immersed in history. Harry remembered all the facts we had learned as I asked him on the way back later in the afternoon. 

After the tour we headed onto the Quayside for lunch. A small 'beach' area is set up for the summer with deckchairs and buckets and spades and there were some CBBC Roadshow activities which the boys joined in with. We ended up staying for a couple of hours and sourced an ice-cream on the way back to the car, which was well deserved!