Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Yvonne Shaw For rich Tudors fashion was important. Their clothes were very elaborate. For the poor clothes had to be tough and practical. All classes wore wool. However, it varied in quality. The rich wore fine-quality wool. The poor wore coarse wool. The Tudors used linen to make shirts and… Continue reading Tudor Clothes

By Tim Lambert In Tudor England meat was a luxury. However, vegetables were cheap. Tudor vegetables included cabbages, onions, cauliflower, cucumbers, leeks, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and turnips. Brussels sprouts were grown in Europe in the 16th century but they were rare in England. Common Tudor fruits were apples, strawberries, pears, plums, blackberries, raspberries, and lemons.… Continue reading Tudor Food

By Tim Lambert 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… Continue reading Tudor Education

By Tim Lambert During the 16th century, there were some improvements in medicine. However, it remained basically the same as in the Middle Ages. In 1478 a book by the Roman doctor Celsus was printed. (The printing press made all books including medical ones much cheaper). The book by Celsus quickly became a standard textbook.… Continue reading Tudor Medicine

By Tim Lambert 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… Continue reading Tudor Houses

By Tim Lambert 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… Continue reading Punishments in the 16th Century