In the 16th century prison was seldom used as a punishment. Instead people were held in prison until trial then some physical punishment was meted out. In the 16th century minor crimes were often punished by the pillory or the stocks. The pillory was a wooden frame on a pole with holes through which a person's head and hands were placed. The frame was then locked and the person was subjected to humiliation and ridicule. Sometimes people also threw unpleasant objects at the person in the pillory. The stocks was a wooden frame with holes through which a person's feet were placed and they were humiliated in the same way. Other common punishments were flogging and branding with red hot irons.

More serious crimes were punished by death. Beheading was reserved for the wealthy. Ordinary people were usually hanged. (They were suspended with a rope round their neck until they were strangled to death). However there were worse ways of killing people.

In 1401 a law in England made burning the penalty for heresy. In the 16th century during the reign of Mary (1553-1558) nearly 300 Protestants were burned to death in England. Sometimes a person about to be burned was strangled with a rope first to spare them pain. However in a horrible variation on this punishment in 1531 Henry VIII passed an act allowing poisoners to be boiled alive but the act was repealed after his death in 1547.

In England the punishment for treason was hanging, drawing and quartering. The person was drawn on a hurdle pulled by a horse to the place of execution. They were hanged (strangled by being suspended by a rope) but when they were still alive and sometimes conscious they were cut down. The executioner cut open their stomach and 'drew out' their entrails. Finally the person was beheaded and his body was cut into quarters.

The history of punishments

TUDOR HOMES

In the Middle Ages rich people's houses were designed for defence rather than comfort. In the 16th century life was safer so houses no longer had to be easy to defend. Rich Tudors built grand houses e.g. Cardinal Wolsey built Hampton Court Palace. Later the Countess of Shrewsbury built Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

People below the rich but above the poor built sturdy 'half-timbered' houses. They were made with a timber frame filled in with wattle and daub (wickerwork and plaster). In the late 16th century some people built or rebuilt their houses with a wooden frame filled in with bricks. Roofs were usually thatched though some well off people had tiles. (In London all houses had tiles because of the fear of fire).

Furniture was more plentiful than in the Middle Ages but it was still basic. In a wealthy home it was usually made of oak and was heavy and massive. Tudor furniture was expected to last for generations. You expected to pass it on to your children and even your grandchildren. Comfortable beds became more and more common in the 16th century. In a middle class home a mattress was often stuffed with flock (a kind of rough wool).

Chairs were more common than in the Middle Ages but they were still expensive. Even in an upper class home children and servants sat on stools. The poor had to make do with stools and benches.

In the 15th century only a small minority of people could afford glass windows. In Tudor times they became much more common. However they were still expensive. If you moved house you took your glass windows with you! Tudor windows were made of small pieces of glass held together by strips of lead. They were called lattice windows. However the poor still had to make do with strips of linen soaked in linseed oil.

Chimneys were also a luxury in Tudor times, although they became more common. Poor people simply had a hole in the roof to let out the smoke. However as more and more people could afford chimneys they had an important effect on homes. In the Middle Ages a well to do person's house was dominated by the great hall. It extended all the way up to the roof of the building where a hole let out smoke from the fire. It was not possible to build upstairs rooms over the great hall or the smoke would not be able to escape. Building chimneys meant that many people could not install another storey in their house over the great hall. So well off people's houses became divided into more rooms.

In wealthy Tudor houses the walls of rooms were lined with oak panelling to keep out drafts. People slept in four-poster beds hung with curtains to reduce drafts. In the 16th century some people had wallpaper but it was very expensive. Other wealthy people hung tapestries or painted cloths on their walls.

In Tudor England carpets were a luxury only the richest people could afford. They were usually too expensive to put on the floor! Instead they were often hung on the wall or over tables. People covered their floors with rushes or reeds (or mats of woven rushes or reeds), which they strew with sweet smelling herbs.

In the 16th century prosperous people lit their homes with beeswax candles. However they were expensive. Others made used candles made from tallow (animal fat) which gave off an unpleasant smell and the poorest people made do with rush lights (rushes dipped in animal fat).

Rich Tudors had clocks in their homes. The very rich had pocket watches although most people relied on pocket sundials.

Rich Tudors were also fond of gardens. Many had mazes, fountains and topiary (hedges cut into shapes). Less well off people used their gardens to grow vegetables and herbs.

None of the improvements of the 16th century applied to the poor. They continued to live in simple huts with one or two rooms (occasionally three). Smoke escaped through a hole in the thatched roof. Floors were of hard earth and furniture was very basic, benches, stools, a table and wooden chests. They slept on mattresses stuffed with straw or thistledown. The mattresses lay on ropes strung across a wooden frame.

In 1596 Sir John Harrington invented a flushing lavatory with a cistern. However the idea failed to catch on. People continued to use chamber pots or cess pits, which were cleaned by men called gong farmers. (In the 16th century a toilet was called a jakes).

The history of homes

TUDOR FOOD

Rich Tudors ate vast amounts of meat. However they rarely ate vegetables. Rich people were not necessarily well fed because they ate too few vegetables. Poor people ate plenty of vegetables because they had no choice! Vegetables were cheap but meat was a luxury.

On certain days by law people had to eat fish instead of meat. At first this was for religious reasons but later in the 16th century it was to support the fishing industry. If you lived near the sea or a river you could eat fresh fish like herrings or mackerel. Otherwise you might have to rely on dried or salted fish.

Poor Tudors lived on a dreary diet. In the morning they had bread and cheese and onions. They only had one cooked meal a day. They mixed grain with water and added vegetables and (if they could afford it) strips of meat.

All classes ate bread but it varied in quality. Rich peoples bread was made from fine white flour. Poor people ate coarse bread of barley or rye.

In the 16th century many people thought fresh fruit was bad for you. They did eat fruit but usually after it was cooked and made into a tart or pie.

The Tudors were also fond of sweet foods (if they could afford them). However in the 16th century sugar was very expensive so most people used honey to sweeten their food.

In the 16th century new foods were introduced from the Americas. Turkeys were introduced into England about 1525. Potatoes were brought to England in the 1580s but at first few English people ate them. Tomatoes came to England from Mexico and apricots were introduced from Portugal.

Nobody drank water in Tudor times because it was too dirty. Young children drank milk. Everyone else drank ale or, if they were rich, wine. From the mid-16th century beer became common. The Tudors also drank cider and perry.

Rich people liked to show off their gold and silver plate. The middle classes would have dishes and bowls made of pewter. The poor made do with wooden plates and bowls. There were no forks in Tudor times. People ate with knives and their fingers or with spoons. Rich Tudors had silver or pewter spoons. The poor used wooden ones.

People in the 16th century made much of their own food. A farmers wife cured bacon and salted meat to preserve it. She baked bread and brewed beer. She also made pickles and conserves and preserved vegetables. Many prosperous farms kept bees for honey.

The history of food

TUDOR TOWNS

Only a small part of the population of Tudor England lived in towns. Nevertheless they played a vital role in the economy. Peasants brought their surplus produce to weekly markets to sell. All kinds of manufactured goods like shoes and pottery were on sale in towns.

Tudor London probably had a population of between 60,000 and 70,000. By 1600 its population was over 250,000. Other towns were much smaller. Bristol probably had a population of about 14,000 in 1500. By 1600 it had grown to about 20,000. The next largest town, Norwich had about 10,000 inhabitants in 1500. In 1600 it still had less than 20,000. The largest town in the north of England was York. In 1500 it had a population of about 10,000. By 1600 it had only risen to about 12,000. The next largest town was probably Exeter with a population of about 9,000 in 1600. Most of the towns in Tudor England were much smaller with populations of between 2,500 and 4,000. In the 16th century anything with more than 1,000 inhabitants was considered a town.

In most Tudor towns tradesmen of one kind tended to live and work in the same street e.g. in many towns butchers and slaughterhouses gathered together in a street called the Shambles.

Tudor towns were dirty, smelly and crowded. There were no sewers and no drains. Rubbish such as rotting vegetables, offal and dirty water were thrown in the streets. In some towns every man was supposed to clean the street in front of his house once a week but it is unlikely many people bothered! Rats and other vermin were common.

In Tudor London there were a few public toilets by streams. However in most towns there were none and people went wherever they could find a convenient spot.

People usually obtained their water from wells or from water carriers who carried water in containers on their shoulders. Some towns had conduits which brought in water from the countryside and which the public could use.

Furthermore in some towns the principal streets were paved but most town streets were not.

In the 16th century streets were also very narrow. Upper storeys of buildings jutted out over lower storeys. These were called jetties.

At night the streets were dark and dangerous. Quite apart from the danger of being robbed it was easy to have an accident in dark, unpaved streets. In London you could hire a linkboy with a lamp to light your way. However many people avoided going out after dark.

Given the dirty condition of Tudor towns it is not surprising that outbreaks of plague were common. When plague struck it might kill 10%, 15% or even more of the population of a town. However towns always recovered. There were always plenty of poor people in the countryside willing to come to towns in search of work.

The history of English towns

TUDOR TRANSPORT

In Tudor times roads were just dirt tracks. Men were supposed, by law, to spend a number of days repairing the local roads but it is unlikely they did much good! People travelled by horse. You could either ride your own or you could hire a horse. From the mid-16th century some rich people rode in carriages. They must have been very uncomfortable because they did not have springs and roads were very bumpy.

In the 16th century you would be lucky if you could travel 50 or 60 kilometres a day. It normally took a week to travel from London to Plymouth. However rich Tudors deliberately travelled slowly. They felt it was undignified to hurry and they took their time.

Goods were sometimes transported by pack horse (horses with bags on their sides). Also carriers with covered wagons carried goods and sometimes passengers. However when possible people preferred to transport goods by water. All around England there was a 'coastal trade'. Goods from one part of the country, such as coal, were taken by sea to other parts.

The history of transport

TUDOR GAMES

Although the days of armoured knights were over rich Tudors still enjoyed tournaments. The contestants dressed in armour and rode horses. They fought with wooden lances and swords.

Rich Tudors also enjoyed hunting. They went hunting deer with bows and arrows. After it was killed the deer was eaten. The rich also went hawking. Falcons were trained to kill other birds. However in Tudor times rich people did not hunt foxes.

The Tudors also liked wrestling and 'casting the bar', which was like shot-putting but with an iron bar. They also played billiards (but not snooker, which is a 19th century game).

Rich Tudors also played board games like chess and backgammon (a backgammon set was found on the wreck of the Mary Rose. It is the same as a modern one). They also tennis with a leather ball stuffed with hair. They also played bowls and skittles. Playing cards were also popular.

All classes gambled. Poor people gambled with dice. They also played games like shuffleboard (shove ha'penny) and nine mens morris. The Tudors also played draughts and fox and geese.

Music and dancing were also very popular. The printing press made books much cheaper so reading was a popular pastime for rich Tudors.

Ordinary people played a rough version of football. There were no rules and the 'pitch' was often a large area including woods and even streams! It was a very rough game. Injuries like broken limbs were common.

Cruel 'sports' like cockfighting were also popular in Tudor times. So was bear baiting. A bear was chained to a post and dogs were trained to attack it.

Another popular entertainment was watching public executions! Criminals were hanged in public and large crowds turned out to watch.

The history of games

TUDOR EDUCATION

In the early 16th century many boys went to chantry schools. Rich men left money in their wills to pay priests to pray for their souls. After the religious changes of the 1540s the chantry schools were closed. However many rich men founded grammar schools.

Boys usually went to a kind of nursery school called a 'petty school' first then moved onto grammar school when they were about seven. The school day began at 6 am in summer and 7 am in winter (people went to bed early and got up early in those days). Lunch was from 11 am to 1 pm. School finished at about 5pm. Boys went to school 6 days a week and there were few holidays.

In Tudor times many children learned to read and write with something called a hornbook. It was not a book in the modern sense. Instead it was a wooden board with a handle. Fixed to the board was a sheet of paper with the alphabet and the Lord's prayer (the Our Father) written on it. The paper was usually protected by a thin slice of animal horn.

Discipline in Tudor schools was savage. The teacher often had a stick with birch twigs attached to it. Boys were hit with the birch twigs on their bare buttocks.

At about 15 or 16 the brightest boys might go to one of England's two universities, Oxford and Cambridge.

Of course many boys did not go to school at all. If they were lucky they might get a 7-year apprenticeship and learn a trade. Some craftsmen could read and write but few labourers could.

As for girls, in a rich family a tutor usually taught them at home. In a middle class family their mother might teach them. Upper class and middle class women were educated. However lower class girls were not.

Tudor children who did not go to school were expected to work. They helped their parents by doing tasks such as scaring birds when seeds were sown They also helped to weave wool and did other household tasks.

Children from rich families usually had their marriages arranged for them. If they refused to marry the person their parents chose they were beaten until they changed their minds. Children from poorer families had more choice over whom to marry. Yet girls usually married young. Many were married when they were only 15 or 16. Boys often married between the ages of 18 and 21.

The history of education

TUDOR CLOTHES

For rich Tudors fashion was important. For the poor clothes had to be hardwearing and practical. All classes wore wool. However it varied in quality. The rich wore fine quality wool. The poor wore coarse wool.

Linen was used to make shirts and underwear. However only the rich could afford cotton and silk. Rich Tudors also embroidered their clothes with silk, gold or silver thread. Rich Tudor women wore silk stockings.

In the 16th century men wore short trouser-like garments called breeches. They also wore tight fitting jackets called doublets. Another jacket called a jerkin was worn over the doublet. Over the jerkin rich men wore a gown, or later in the 16th century a cloak or cape.

However instead of a doublet many workingmen wore a loose tunic. It was easier to work in. Some workingmen wore a leather jerkin called a buff-jerkin. Men also wore stockings or woollen socks, which were called hose.

Women wore a kind of petticoat called a smock or shift or chemise made of linen or wool and a wool dress over it. A woman's dress was made of two parts, a bodice or corset like garment and a skirt. Sleeves were held on with laces and could be detached. Workingwomen wore a linen apron.

In the late 16th century many women wore a frame made of whale bone or wood under their dress called a farthingale. If they could not afford a farthingale women wore a padded roll around their waist called a bum roll.

In the 16th century women did not wear knickers. However men sometimes wore linen shorts.

In Tudor times everyone wore hats. Poor women often wore a linen cap called a coif. After 1572 by law all men except nobles had to wear a woollen cap on Sundays. This law was passed to give the wool cap makers plenty of work!

In the 16th century buttons were usually for decoration. Clothes were held together with laces or pins. Furs in Tudor times included cat, rabbit, beaver, bear, badger and polecat.

The Tudors used mostly vegetable dyes such as madder for red, woad for blue or walnut for brown. However you have to use a chemical called a mordant to 'fix' the dye. The mordant changed the colour of the dye e.g. a plant called weld was used with alum for yellow but if used with iron or tin it produced shades of green.

The most expensive dyes were bright red, purple and indigo. Poor people often wore brown, yellow or blue. Incidentally in the 16th century scarlet was not a colour it was the name of a fine, expensive wool.

Tudor women who could afford it would hang a container of sweet smelling spices on their belt. This was called a pomander and it disguised the horrid smells in the streets! However it is a myth that in Tudor times people were very dirty and smelly. Most people tired to keep themselves clean but it was difficult to keep free of vermin. On the wreck of the Mary Rose many lice combs were found. A bone ear scoop and a bone manicure set were also found.

Some women wore wigs. Both Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots wore them. When Mary was beheaded her wig came off.

From the 14th century to the mid-17th century laws called sumptuary laws laid down what each class could and could not wear. In the 16th century complicated laws said that only persons of a certain rank could wear certain expensive materials such as velvet and silk. These laws, of course, made no difference to poor people since they could not afford 'sumptuous' materials even if they wanted to. They were supposed to keep the better off classes, such as nobility, gentry and rich merchants, separate. You were supposed to be able to tell which class somebody belonged to by his or her clothes. However the sumptuary laws proved to be unenforceable and many people simply ignored them.

The history of clothes

TUDOR MEDICINE

In the 16th century many people died in epidemics of sweating sickness (possibly influenza). Many others died of smallpox. (Queen Elizabeth I almost died of it. However she was given the most advanced medical treatment for smallpox -she was wrapped in red cloth.) Even if you survived smallpox it could leave you disfigured with pox marks or blind. Syphilis was also rampant. Dysentery was also a killer and many women died in childbirth (usually because of infection).

Tudor doctors were very expensive and they could do little about illness partly because they did not know what caused disease. They had little idea of how the human body worked. Doctors thought the body was made up of four fluids or 'humours'. They were blood, phlegm, choler or yellow bile and melancholy or black bile. In a healthy person all four humours were balanced but if you had too much of one you fell ill.

If you had too much blood you would be bled either with leeches or by cutting a vein. Too much of other humours would be treated either by eating the right diet or by purging (taking medicines to cause vomiting or diarrhoea).

Doctors also fought infectious disease, like plague, was caused by poisonous 'vapours', which drifted through the air and were absorbed through the skin.

One of the main ways of diagnosing sickness was uroscopy (examining urine) by its appearance, its smell or even by its taste!

It is often said that Tudor surgeons did not use anaesthetics. That is not quite true. They did have opium and hemlock. However both of them were very dangerous. The wrong dose could kill and Tudor doctors had only a vague idea about correct dosages. Many surgeons refused to use these substances because they were too dangerous.

Astrology also played a part in Tudor medicine. Most doctors believed that different zodiacal signs ruled different parts of the body.

Since doctors were so expensive many people went to see a wise woman if they were ill. The wise women would have a great knowledge of different herbs and their properties and might be able to help. Unfortunately many Tudor folk-cures were absurd e.g. a treatment for gout was goat's grease with saffron.

Actual operations were performed by a barber-surgeon. He was the barber, the surgeon and the dentist combined. Barber-surgeons had lower status than doctors. Lower still were the apothecaries who made up medicines.

The average life span in the 16th century was shorter than today. Average life expectancy at birth was only 35. (So only half of all people born lived to be 35). However many of the people born died while they were still children. Out of all people born between one third and one half died before the age of about 16. However if you could survive to your mid-teens you would probably live to your 50s or early 60s. Even in the 16th century some people did live to their 70s or 80s.

The history of medicine

TUDOR WARFARE

In the 16th century guns transformed warfare. Early guns were lit by a slow match (string was soaked in saltpetre and when it was lit it smouldered). The slow match was touched to the gunpowder to ignite it. However in the early 16th century the wheelock was invented. A metal wheel spun against a piece or iron pyrites generating sparks that ignited the gunpowder. As a result most cavalry stopped using lances. Instead they carried two or three pistols each, ready to fire, and sabres.

Meanwhile the traditional English weapon was the longbow but handguns were increasingly used. The longbow slowly went out of use during the 16th century. However muskets took a long time to reload and during that time the infantry needed protection from cavalry. They were protected by men with pikes (a weapon like a long spear).

Cannons meant that fortifications had to be re-designed. Walls were now made to slope outwards to deflect cannon balls. Instead of towers forts and walled towns now had bastions. They were triangular sections of wall that jutted out from the rest of the wall. They provided flanking fire. In other words guns on the bastion could fire at approaching soldiers from the sides.

The history of weapons

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A history of Tudor England

Tudor Christmas

The Mary Rose

A brief biography of Henry VIII

Tudor Women

Some myths about the Tudors

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