Our exclusive workshops offer a chance to meet a soldier from the English Civil War, learn how York has been defended over the centuries, or find out how the city dealt with its criminals in years gone by. These workshops have been designed with cross-curricular learning in mind, and are ideally suited to KS2 and KS3.
For more information scroll to the relevant workshop below.
Key Stage 2
Crime and Punishment
This workshop helps children learn about the types of crimes committed and punishments given from 1450 - 1700, and for pupils to consider how they are different or similar today. A practical, hands-on approach is taken, with pupils playing games and watching demonstrations of punishments. Children are encouraged to discuss the morality of both crimes and punishment.
Topics covered
- Criminal acts: Violent Crime and Non-Violent Crime
- York - Case Studies
- 1450 - 1700: Vagabonds, Treason & Highwaymen
- C20th comparisons
Availability: Monday - Friday
Meet the Civil War Soldier
Meet a Parliamentarian soldier and hear all about the tactics and the weapons used on the seventeenth-century battlefield. Find out how the great battle of Marston Moor was won, and discover what the common soldier really thought of King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.
Availability: Tuesdays / Wednesdays / Thursdays
Defending York through the Ages
These hands-on, entertaining workshops will focus on the evolution of siege warfare through the ages, from Roman times through to the English Civil War, with an emphasis on the development of city fortifications during the medieval period. Particular attention will be paid to armour, arms and methods of warfare, and pupils will gain an insight into the experience of a siege from the contrasting points of view of both attackers and defenders.
Availability: Monday - Friday
Key Stage 3
Crime and Punishment
This workshop helps children learn about the types of crimes committed and punishments given from 1450 -1700, and for pupils to consider how they are different or similar today. A practical, hands-on approach is taken, with pupils playing games and watching demonstrations of punishments. Children are encouraged to discuss the morality of both crimes and punishment. Students can compare how similar situations have been dealt with in different periods, or look at several aspects of this whole subject for a particular historical period.
Topics covered:
- Criminal acts: Violent Crime and Non-Violent Crime
- York -Case Studies
- 1450 -1700: Vagabonds, Treason & Highwaymen
- C20th comparisons
Availability: Monday - Friday
Meet the Civil War Soldier
Meet a Parliamentarian soldier and hear all about the tactics and the weapons used on the seventeenth-century battlefield. Find out how the great battle of Marston Moor was won, and discover what the common soldier really thought of King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.
Availability: Tuesdays / Wednesdays / Thursdays
Defending York through the Ages
These hands-on, entertaining workshops will focus on the evolution of siege warfare through the ages, from Roman times through to the English Civil War, with an emphasis on the development of city fortifications during the medieval period. Particular attention will be paid to armour, arms and methods of warfare, and pupils will gain an insight into the experience of a siege from the contrasting points of view of both attackers and defenders.
Availability: Monday -Friday
