Christmas at the Tudor Merchant’s House

2024 opening times

 
Friday 29th and Saturday 30th November 
Friday 6th and Saturday 7th December
Friday 13th and Saturday 14th December 
from 11 am to 3pm (last entry at 2.30pm)

Meet the Lord of Misrule and have a go at making traditional Christmas decorations.

Children aged under 10 will receive a special gift.

Normal admission charges apply.

Booking is not required.
Please note: due to its small size we are only able to allow 30 people into the house at any one time.

What is Christmas at the Tudor Merchant’s House?

Two of the three floors will be decorated with natural evergreens similar to how we believe a wealthy Tudor family would have decorated their home. The Christmas table will be made up with the kind of foods eaten at the time and the “Lord of Misrule” will be on hand to give a Tudor toy to every child visiting.

Christmas in Tudor times

Did you know many of our Christmas traditions were started by the Tudors? The Tudors were well known for liking a party, and Henry V111 was infamous for his expensive and lavish tastes.

During the winter, life in Tudor times would have been cold and dark and after a hard year of toil wealthy and working-class families would be ready to celebrate their faith in a family environment.

 

Christmas Decorations

Although Christmas trees were around in the 16^th Century in the Baltic and north Germany, the Tudors would not have had them. Instead they would have decorated their houses with natural evergreens like ivy, holly, laurel and mistletoe and they would have done their decorating on Christmas eve.

 

Christmas Gifts.

Gifts were given on New Year and would have included items like short poems, or an item of clothing in wealthy homes.

 

Christmas Customs.

Christmas was quite a long festival taking place over 12 days. Everyone taking a break from work would visit friends and the season was seen very much as a community celebration. The 12 days were actually saint days with the most important being the 25^th December, and the 1^st and 6^th January when the biggest feasts were held.The Lord of Misrule supervised the revelry and was charged with managing unruly events like drinking, role reversal and general chaos.

Christmas food and Fasting

This was a time of serious feasting and included meat like swan, goose and turkey as well as venison peacock and of course wild boar.

Other traditions included pantomimes, carol singing and drinking too much and so on the 12 days over Christmas celebrations, at the Tudor Court and possibly in a rich merchant’s house were filled with light, laughter and feasting.