It is not often that we find our Re-Creations of Everyday Tudor Life described in glowing terms to illustrate an important point being made by a Professor of Social History.  That happened with Professor Lisa Jardine's piece in the Points of View slot (the slot occupied for so long by Alistair Cooke's Letter from America) in early July.

This year's Great Annual Re-Creation of everyday Tudor Life in June/July was presented against the background of the threat of invasion from Spain and the preparations England undertook to resist invaders on land. 

Preparations on Land

The English generally were confident that they would have been able to repel the Spanish had they succeeded in landing. The Spaniards for their part were so confident of ultimate success that the Spanish grandees had parceled out England amongst themselves before ever they sailed.  How would it have turned out ?  Who can say but as other would-be invaders have discovered (most recently Napoleon and Hitler) it is one thing to threaten from across the Channel; its quite another to be able to cross it to land.  The Spanish found this out to their cost. 

Setting Sail

Radio 4 Broadcast
It is not often that one of the region’s leading visitor attractions features in a Sociology Professor’s talk on Radio 4 .

But this has just happened to Kentwell Hall’s Re-Creations of Everyday Tudor Life. Professor Lisa Jardine, the noted social historian, used a Points of View broadcast to make some pertinent points about the growing gap between rich and poor and specifically how the lives of each appear to have no points of contact these days.  She then went on to say how different life was in Tudor times when persons of all degree rubbed along with each other and used the Kentwell Tudor Re-Creation to illustrate how different things were in the 16th C.

Professor Jardine at Kentwell
Here’s an extract from what Professor Jardine said about her visit to a Kentwell Re-Creation

From time to time we add to the Garden something that catches our eye. The latest addition is a human sundial, something that we have wanted for a long time.

The Great Easter Egg Quiz

Once again the Quiz develop into a tussle between the Gores and the Wilsons both past winners which the Gores shaded by a few points (some of which were gifted by the Wilsons failing to transfer to the fair copy answers they had on their draft).  A new family won the children's Egg by an equally fine margin.

January for the most part here has been exceptionally wet and exceptionally warm.  Not winter at all.  The ground (heavy clay) has become waterlogged and those animals which remain out for the Winter or (like the horses and donkeys) are put out each day have cut it up badly. One wonders if the ground will ever recover. Think back 12 months and government was warning of drought to come last summer.  Some drought then and some now.

The BBC's Antiques Roadshow of the programme filmed at Kentwell in September was broadcast last week.  Judging from the comments we have received from many who watched it, Kentwell provided a very fitting background to the programme. It was certainly visible much of the time.

Many have also commented what an interesting programme it was.  We thought so too. What was curious was how we had missed all the items which were shown in the programme.  We saw many items being filmed and were generally reasonably au fait with all the filmed finds - or so we thought.  Yet, one way or another we missed each item eventually shown - so it was as much news to us as to all other viewers.  On the other hand all the extremely interesting items which we had seen being filmed some of which we were sure would make the programme were not to be seen during it.