The Custody of Mary Queen of Scots in Sheffield 1570 - 84

In this session pupils discover the remarkable story of the 14 year captivity of Mary Queen of Scots in Sheffield and her gaolers, the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess of Hardwick.

Why was Mary Queen of Scots imprisoned in Sheffield? What happened to her in the end? Was this fair?

The class will be split into two groups for this session, one representing England and Elizabeth I and the other
representing Mary Queen of Scots..

Pupils will gather information and look at evidence from the letters and portraits before bringing their case to the
Tudor Court.

Once all the evidence has been put forward pupils will be able to vote on whether they think Mary is guilty and what should happen to her.

Pupils then hear the true story of Mary’s fate before writing a newspaper report on Mary’s execution including illustrations of what happened. The session culminates with a demonstration of our unique automaton of Mary’s execution!  

Curriculum LInks

This session is aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils and supports the History and Literacy programmes of study.

History 2: Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past.

Children look at the two main beliefs in Tudor times and learn about the historical event of Mary’s execution.

History 10: Britain and the wider world in Tudor times.

Children learn about the role of Queen Elizabeth I and her effect on the lives of everyday Tudors as well as on the life of Mary Queen of Scots and the Tudor Lords of Sheffield.
 

Session Outline

The session will be based on the following activities:

The session begins with a tour of the Manor Lodge site so that pupils can see exactly where Mary was imprisoned and stand in the Turret House which she would have known.

  • Pupils are split into groups to represent either Catholic  Scotland or Protestant England
  • Pupils receive letters which are used as evidence to put a case either for or against Mary Queen of Scots
  • The evidence is presented to the ‘court’ before the class  decides Mary’s fate
  • We discuss cases like this today and how modern courts work
  • Children write and illustrate a newspaper report account of Mary’s execution
  • Follow up work and resource pack for this session is provided
  • The lesson plan used for this session are available on request

NB Activities are subject to change 
 

Costs

This session costs £3.00 per child (up to 36 children at a time) including VAT  and last for half a day - for example 9.30-12.00 or 12.30-3.00.  imes can be changed to meet the needs of the school

To Book

For further information or to book this session please contact :
Anna Jones, Green Estate Ltd,  Manor Oaks Farmhouse, 389 Manor Lane, Sheffield S2 1UJ
T: 0114 276 2828     F:0114 267 7636           E-mail: a.jones@greenestate.org