Award Winning Re-Creations at Kentwell

Tudor Re-Creations

Tudor Re-Creations - Kentwell offers a unique opportunity for both Schools and also the General Public to see how the family in a Great Tudor House might have lived, and how the community in and about the manor supported them, going about their daily lives in the House's heyday in the 16th Century.

In these Re-Creations, the first of which took place in 1979, Kentwell's Tudors bring the community of a Great Tudor House 16th Century to life for visitors, young and old. Schoolchildren and visitors need little (if any) knowledge of the period to enjoy their visit.

More about Tudor Re-Creations

Innovation

The novelty of the Kentwell approach was that, first, it concentrated upon everyday domestic life rather than battles, which living history events at that time usually featured; and secondly, it has always sought to portray a Tudor community rather than isolated activities. What Kentwell began in 1979 others now follow, but few other places, even today, have such an unrivalled location, as many Tudors, or as great a range of activities to match the scale or breadth of Kentwell Tudor Re-Creations.  None even attempt to portray a community in the way Kentwell seeks to do.

Children

Kentwell has always focused on making its Re-Creations accessible to schoolchildren. The Great Annual Re-Creations by their 30th year in 2008 had then been visited - and hugely enjoyed - by more than half a million schoolchildren. Kentwell has probably the biggest schools programme of any Historic House in East Anglia. Schools are encouraged to bring children in costume (for which Kentwell provides visiting schools with easy-to-follow instructions to make). Children thus feel part of the Re-Creation - not mere spectators.

Awards to Kentwell

Kentwell's Re-Creations have received several Awards, not least being the contribution the Re-Creations made to Kentwell being declared Heritage Building of the Year for 2001. This Award is gained only by the UK's foremost Historic Buildings. And more recently Kentwell also won the 'Tourism in Suffolk Peoples' Award - Best Visitor Experience 2008

WWII Re-Creations

WWII Re-Creations - The WWII Re-Creations were originated in 1995 partly to celebrate Kentwell's role as a huge transit camp when requisitioned during WWII and partly because there seemed to be few major events to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of VE Day. That first WWII Re-Creation, 1945 Re-Lived, was very large with many 1940s vehicles and hundreds of Participants, representing both the military and civilians. It stretched Kentwell's resources and energies to the very limit. No attempt has been made to repeat the scale of it.

Instead, Kentwell has developed three quite different WWII Weekend Re-Creations each year. Each has its distinct theme. They are smaller than the original 1945 Re-Lived but each still enables visitors to indulge their own, or their parents' (or grandparents'), nostalgia for those, now distant, times. Nowadays, some WW11 Re-Creation days feature Kentwell's version of a 'Murder Mystery' which enable visitors to become even more involved as they attempt to solve the 'crime'.

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Victorian Re-Creations

In 2009 Kentwell staged its first Re-Creation of the Victorian period - a Victorian Christmas in December. Encouraged by this Kentwell proposes a Victorian Garden Party for one weekend each August and a Victorian Christmas for an extended weekend each December.

Whatever the Period

Whatever the period, whatever the year, Kentwell's aim is to bring that period, and that year, to life as authentically as possible through the dress, speech, activities, historical events and atmosphere of the time.

List of Re-Creations