Yule at Sutton Hoo

Mid-winter has been an important time of year long before Christmas was celebrated. Many Christmas traditions we follow today would still be recognisable to Anglo-Saxons including family gatherings, decorating and feasting.

Immerse yourself in the High Hall exhibition and find out how the people buried at Sutton Hoo’s Royal Burial Ground might have celebrated this time of year. Discover how the objects link with Yule traditions, explore the Yule feasting table and share your own traditions on the Yule tree. Pick up a free family trail to enjoy along the way.

Venture inside Tranmer House to discover what Christmas was like across the decades. Find out how Edith Pretty spent some of her Christmases with extracts from her travel diaries. Head into the Sitting Room to see how this compared with what Christmas was like for archaeologists working at Sutton Hoo during the 1980s. Enjoy decorations created by our Busy Bees volunteer sewing team, inspired by objects discovered at Sutton Hoo. Pick up a free family activity sheet when you arrive to see what decorations you can spot and head into the Discovery Room for other free Yule themed family activities.

Out in the landscape, pick up a free family Yule Feast Quest family trail to help a young Anglo-Saxon warrior gather everything needed for a Yule feast.