The children became petty constables helping to find clues to illegal activities. In the afternoon, the judge and jury helped decide the gruesome fate of some local criminals. The children learnt about crime and punishment along with stories of real events that happened at Ufton Court. A wonderful day had by all.

When we arrived at Ufton Court, we met a lovely man called Sam, who was a Tudor constable/police (not really) and he was dressed in fine Tudor clothing. He told us that for our first activity we were going to be “petty-constables” (mini police). So we explored the outside of the house to see if we could spot any Catholic priest holes, because during the reign of Elizabeth 1st, if you were Catholic you were likely to be prosecuted (sent to the court). Then we looked at some amazing Catholic items like their necklaces (“rosaries”)and prayer books. In the afternoon we acted out a court of justice. In the first case, we had judge Sylvie and two guards, Francesca and Ava. The accuser was Matilda, a baker who made bread for the Queen! So we brought in the Queen (Ella) and the accused, Freya, a poor farm girl. In the end she was found guilty! Everyone voted for a punishment, and she had her hand chopped off! In a different case the Queen accused Henry of treason! The judge in this case, Rafael, wanted the Queen’s hands cut off, but we found out the Queen can overrule any decision and banished Henry and his girlfriend! The last case was surprising. Victoria accused Sophie of witchcraft but in the end, Victoria got hanged (not really!) All in all we had a great day! 

 Ella P & Sophie C