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Teacher Led Visits          Museum Led Workshops      Schools Event Days        Special Events Teachers Children's Activity Days   Resources for Teachers      Activity Sheets              Supporting Documents       


Teacher Led Visits

The Museum has many things to do to keep supervised school groups busy and engaged. We are Museum of rural buildings that have been saved from being destroyed, brought carefully here and re-erected into their original state.

We have stewards in the majority of the buildings who really like to talk to school groups. They are also happy to give tours and talks and answer any questions you may have on that building or the Museum. You can meet the millers in the working watermill and find out all about flour; what it is and how it is made. We have a working Victorian smithy; meet the blacksmith and find out what he does and why he would have been so important. Discover how and what food would have been prepared in the kitchen of a Tudor yeoman farmer in the 1540s. We also have a range of other demonstrations which vary from day to day. You might see a working woodyard; life in a medieval cottage, spinning or weaving; ploughing the fields, and many more.

NB – Our daily demonstrations vary.  If there is something that you would really like to see or want to know what will be happening on the day of your visit please contact us.

We have six period gardens that are managed by our gardening team.  Stop and chat to them in one of the gardens and discover what is growing and what things were used for.

Meet our working animals; we have 4 Sussex cattle, 3 Shire horses, one Tamworth pig, lots of Southdown sheep, a flock of Light Sussex chicken, a flock of geese and lots of ducks. You are likely to meet the horses working around the site or at the stables; all the other animals are moved regularly, so please ask on arrival if there is something you really want to see.

Please make use of any of the downloadable worksheets available from our website to help you make the most of your visit here.  Your pupils will enjoy a day out in the fresh air with plenty of space to walk in the park and the woodland and lots of domestic and farm buildings to explore.  We can usually offer under-cover areas for your lunch, but you are free to picnic anywhere on the site. 

Museum Led Workshops

The following is a complete list of Museum led workshops.  Each lasts for 45 minutes and will accommodate a maximum of 15 children.  For current prices please click here.  Please note this charge is in addition to the admission charge.  These workshops should be booked at least one month in advance.  Depending on the time of year you wish to visit, different formats are available.  Please contact the Schools Services Department to discuss your requirement and make a booking.

 

Content and delivery will be differentiated according to age and ability. If you require a specific focus for your study please discuss it with the Schools Services Manager in advance so that staff can be briefed.
 
General    
'Side by Side' Farming Tours.   Details
Archaeology - Digging for history   Details
Building Materials    
 Building Blocks KS1 Details
Getting to Grips KS2 Details
Victorian Life    
Victorian Farming   Details
Victorian country walk   Details
Victorian School Role-play KS1, 2, 3 Details
Victorian Household Chores KS1, 2, 3 Details
Victorian Cooking KS1, 2, 3 Details
Tudor Life    
Tudor Apothecary KS 2 & 3 Details
Tudor textiles KS 2 & 3 Details
Tudor cooking KS 2 & 3 Details
The games Tudor children played KS 2 & 3 Details
Tudor Agriculture KS 2 & 3 Details
Medieval Realms    
Medieval Apothecary KS 2 & 3 Details
Medieval textiles KS 2 & 3 Details
Medieval Agriculture KS 2 & 3 Details
Medieval Cooking KS 2 & 3 Details

We work with Goodwood modern farm to offer 'side by side' farming workshops and can also create bespoke workshops and tours based on your requirements.  Please contact the the School Services Department for more details.

Schools Event Days

HARVEST HOME

Date by arrangement

A day full of activities relating to the Harvest season, a celebration of the food grown on the land - bread making, corn dollies, and creative activities to celebrate Harvest time.
 

FIRE & LIGHT

Date by arrangement

A day full of activities about the importance of fire and light to coincide with the summer solstice. Charcoal burning, bread making, whistling kettles, lantern making, candle dipping and dances to celebrate the sun.  

To help with planning your visit see Museum Risk Assessment for School Event Days

 


Special Events for Teachers


Children's Activity Days

During the Spring, Summer and Autumn half term holidays, and every Wednesday during the Summer holidays, children's activity days provide an astonishing range of activities for children (and their parents and carers!).

For full details of the current programme visit the Museum website special events. 

Activity Sheets

These activity sheets are included either as Word documents so that you may print them or edit them to suit your own requirements.  Others are Acrobat .pdf files.
 

Mathematics and Science

    
Triangle Trail Follow the triangle trail to find these shapes around the Museum.  (Early years/KS1) Details
Mathematics in Buildings What mathematics was used in a building? Details
Signpost Map Which way and how far?  Making a signpost map. Details
Shape in Buildings What shapes were used and why were they used?  Collecting shapes and explaining them. Details
 
Symmetry in Buildings Why did they use symmetrical shapes? Details
Proportions and Patterns in Buildings What is important in the design of a building.  Looking for symmetry, number patterns, and proportions in a range of buildings. Details
 
Ranking Which was the most important room? Details
Bricklaying Bricks: identification of different types of bond and measurements. Details
Catherington Treadwheel Simple machines, radius, diameter, circumference and volume. Details
Chaffcutter Simple gear ratios. Details
Counting Boards Medieval alternative to the calculator or pencil and paper. Details
Lurgashall Mill Complex gear trains. Details
Machinery and Gearing. Intermediate gear ratios. Details
Sixteenth Century Arithmetic Methods of multiplication Details
Timber Framed Buildings Frames and bays, observation, recording measurements and plans Details

Science

    
The Importance of Wood You will examine several buildings to find out how people use wood.  Details
Track Back Wood A discovery pack about trees, wood and its uses. Details

History

    
Bayleaf - A Medieval Farmstead

Examine Bayleaf Farmstead in detail to find out about medieval farming. 

Details
Everyday Medieval life Visit several houses to find out how medieval people lived. Details
Tudor Rich and Poor What were the differences between the lives of rich and poor people in Tudor times?  Combines a trip to the Museum with an ICT focus Details

Art and Design

    
Line Drawings for Colouring A series of monochrome line drawings of many of the exhibits at the museum.  Click for a pdf format file that you may print.  

Treasure hunts and Trails

    
Treasure Hunts Find hidden treasures around the Museum site Details
Answers
  Another hunt for hidden treasure around the Museum site Details
Answers
Window Wisdom Find the different windows around the Museum site Details
Answers
Building Materials Worksheet/Trail Hunt the different building materials, you could add even more to the list Details
I Spy... Activity Sheet Look for these items, you could add to the list. Details


Supporting Documents

We have assembled other supporting documents that you may wish to use in developing your visit. 
 
Education before 1870 Details
Education 1870 - 1902 Details
What is a probate inventory? When someone died a probate inventory listed all of his or her wordly possessions. Details
Transcription of William Goldsmith Probate Inventory William Goldsmith lived in Rolvenden in Kent and died in 1566.  This probate inventory lists all of his worldly possessions and makes fascinating reading. Details
Who lived in Bayleaf in the sixteenth century? From at least 1556 to c.1600 a man called Thomas Wells lived in Bayleaf with his family. He was a prosperous yeoman farmer. substance by his neighbours. Details
What is a yeoman? Thomas Wells who lived in Bayleaf was a yeoman farmer. Details
Servants Yeoman farmers like Thomas Wells usually had servants. Details
The Sixteenth Century House Bayleaf is a good example of a late medieval house Details
Poverty and Poor Relief in the Sixteenth Century Thomas Wells was responsible for deciding who would benefit from parish poor fund Details
Fireplaces The Museum's buildings contain examples of the development of fireplaces from a simple open hearth through smoke bays to chimneys.  A tangible example of design evolution. Details
Victorian Cottages Drawings of Whittakers Cottages and the contemporary view on the appropriate size for a labourers dwelling. Details
The Filkins Family The Filkins family lived at No. 1 Whittakers Cottages from 1891 to 1914........... Details
Going to School circa 1880-1900 The Filkins children attended Ashtead Boys school and Ashtead Infants school, what was schooling like in those days? ........ Details
Feeding the Family The daily diet of rural workers, allotments and cottage livestock and food adulteration in the late 19th century.... Details
The Temperance Movement The Ashtead branch of the C of E Temperance Society was founded in 1883 and by 1886 had 107 members with sixty four ‘abstainers’ and forty three ‘total abstainers’. ........ Details
Charitable Clubs and Friendly Societies in Ashtead Clubs in Ashtead in the late 19th century included the Leg of Mutton friendly society, clothing club, coal club, burial club and the penny bank...... Details
The Wealden House The structure and plan of this type of house common in south east England. Details
Turnpike Trusts Turnpike trusts were formed to collect tolls to pay for the upkeep of highways.  Tolls were collected at toll cottages like the one from Beeding built in 1807 and now at the Museum Details
Lime This document traces the history of lime, its production and its various uses in building construction and decoration. Details
Wattle and Daub A building material used since the Bronze Age and evident iin buildings at the Museum. Details
Roofing Materials The history of thatch and other roofing materials such as tile, shingle, stone and slate Details
Making Bricks by Hand The buildings and equipment used in hand brick making. Details
Gardens , Orchard and Shaws Landscape features surrounding the Bayleaf House with the character and detail of its original 16th century setting. Details
The Woodlands Woodlands in the rural economy and the products and processes of traditional forestry. Details
Charcoal Burning Processes in the ancient craft of charcoal burning. Details
Building the Downland Gridshell The construction process explained. Details
How the Lurgashall Mill Works A description, with diagrams, of the workings of the mill. Details


Resources for Teachers

Free preliminary visit.   Enquire
Museum Guidebook. Detailed descriptions of all of the buildings at the museum and where appropriate, the associated social history.  
INSET Regular programme of INSET.  Enquire
Outreach Scheme.   Enquire
Loan Boxes.   Enquire
Museum Bookshop   Visit

Further information for teachers can be found in the News Section under