weal y families could aﬀord a whipping if

Wealthy families could afford a ‘whipping boy’. If a rich child was naughty, their whipping boy would get punished instead of them!

Oxford and Cambridge were the only universities in Tudor England. Some boys went to universitywhen they were fourteen!

www.teachingideas.co.ukImages: © ThinkStock©

Henry VIII liked playing tennis. The game was played indoors and rackets were made of wood and strung with sheep gut. Leather tennis balls were filled with hair.

Football was played in Tudor times. There were no set numbers of players in each team and the goal posts were a mile apart. It was very violent!


On average, Tudor people only lived until they were about 35 years old!

Tudor toilets were often a piece of wood over a bowl or a hole in the ground. People would wipe their bottoms with leaves or moss. Rich people used lamb’s wool.

www.teachingideas.co.ukPhoto: © ThinkStock©

Tudor people ate robins, badgers, otters, tortoises and seagulls!

There were no forks in Tudor times! People used a spoon, a knife and their fingers to eat.


All waste was thrown into the street, including toilet waste.There were lots of diseases in Tudor times!

Tudor sailors spent a long time at sea, so they had to take food that would last. However, it was often infested with worms and other creatures!


Tudor kings and queens liked archery. It was the law that every fit man over 24 should be able to shoot a target 220 yards away.

Tudors mainly drank weak beer. This was because it was safer than the water in wells and streams (which was often polluted with sewage).


People said that sheep were more valuable than men in Tudor times. Spinning and weaving increased so there was a lot of demand for wool.

Girls often stayed at home to help their family with the housework. Many were also sent out to work to bring in money for the family.

www.teachingideas.co.uk©

Most people in Tudor times couldn’t read so shops had a picture sign to show people what they sold.

When he was younger, Henry VIII’s armour had a waist measurement of 34 to 36 inches. His last armour had a waist measurement of 58 to 60 inches!


weal y families could aﬀord a whipping if

Documents