Exploring work in Tudor times for both the rich and the poor.
PRESENTER: Tudor jobs - often they're hard and dirty and sometimes they downright stink! On the upside, most people can take early retirement around the age of 35 to 40. On the downside, that's because they've died. We've taken to the towns and villages across the land to find out a little more about some of those jobs.
MERCHANT: Oh, hello there. My job? Well, there are far worse out there. I'm a merchant, and as you can see, I do very, very well for myself, I must say. I've just sailed back from Antwerp in Belgium. That's where I do most of my trading, although France and Spain are on my list too. I go overseas to sell some of the finest English cloth. About 90% of what we export from England iscloth. Oh, sure. Francis Drake has done me a real favour by sailing all the way round the world. Plenty of new trade routesfor me to keep an eye on, plenty of opportunities to expand, and more money helps keep my staff happy. I've got weavers,spinners and dyers to pay, don't you know. Now, enough chewing the fat with you. There's money to be made!
MILKMAID: Oh, isn't she a beauty? I call her Chew-dor. Ha, ha! Get it? She just chews grass all day. Doesn't do much else, though. Ha. Well, apart from that. I don't have many possessions. I can't afford much more than kitchen utensils, so she's the big one - the old cash cow, so to speak. I get all my milk from her and from that I churn butter. I keep a little bit for myself and sell the rest to my neighbours for as much as I can get. About 1 1/2 pence for a 1/2 pound of butter.
NOBLEMAN: Work, work? Ah, ha! You think I've done a hard day's work in my life? Look at these hands. Pristine, I tell you. Go on, feel them, silky soft. No, no. Don't be ridiculous. I have servants, labourers, gardeners, falconers. The most I do is attend the court to meet with other noble folk or the monarch, but nothing more. No, all else is beneath me. Away with you!
MARY FILLIS, BASKET WEAVER: Hmm, I was a servant for a while. It was okay. The pay was awful, though. Barely 5 shillings per quarter. That's basically a pound a year to you. When my family and I arrived from Morocco, I was only a child, so I worked as a house servant - just chores, no school, more chores, sleep, repeat. Pretty much from daybreak to nightfall. Now I'm a basket weaver. I weave baskets out of willow. It's quite technical, but I reckon you'd pick it up. I used to make shovels, which, you know, come in pretty handy with all that mess on the street.
GROOM OF THE KING'S CLOSE STOOL: I'm the Groom of the King's Close Stool. I attend to all the king's toileting needs and his dressing and undressing routine too. And in return, I get some of his old clothes and some of his furnishings. He's got some pretty swish threads, I tell you. I look after his toilet - which we carry around on our travels - towels, wash cloths, bowls for when he's… finished. Okay, so it doesn't sound great on the face of it, but it is actually a very important position. People looking for a meeting with the king come to me first, so you best keep on my good side. I've had this job for a while, pretty much as long as Henry's been king. I've no idea what I'll do if there's ever a queen. I'm guessing my toilet duties will be for the chop.
EXECUTIONER: I just want to be loved man. There's a heart in here. I didn't even want this job. I got it because my dad did it. What's your family business? Oh. Who? Me? Oh, just death, you know, chopping heads, hanging, boiling. Bet you wish you hadn't asked.
PRESENTER: And there we have it. Tudor jobs were difficult, back-breaking in some cases and paid very little. The best way to avoid a lifetime of work…you just need to be the lucky one born into a noble family and a life of riches. Easy. Right?
The occupations covered in the animation are:
- Merchant. In Tudor times wool accounted for up to 90% of England's exports, with English wool regarded as the finest in Europe. The Tudors imported a range of commodities from Europe including wine, spices, carpets, silk and fur.
- Dairy worker. This figure is based on Cattelena of Almondsbury, a single woman living near Bristol. We know about Cattelena because of a surviving inventory, which lists her cow as her most valuable possession. She was able to churn butter from the cow's milk and sell her surplus to her neighbours. Cattelena is one of the many people living in Tudor England to have arrived from overseas.
- Wealthy noble. In Tudor times the wealthy didn't need to work. They owned land and made money by renting out the land for farming. This 'feudal' system had commenced when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 and took all land for himself, subsequently allowing barons to look after the land on his behalf in return for loyalty and support.
- Servant / basket weaver. This figure is based on Mary Fillis. Mary was six years old when she came to England with her family from Morocco. Her father was Fillis of Morisco, a basket weaver and shovel maker. Mary worked as a servant and later established her own business. There is a record of her being baptised in 1597.
- The groom of the king's close stool. This famous position was to help the king with his 'close stool' or toilet. It was a highly sought after position, allowing privileged access to the monarch. Those who wished to speak to the king would often make an indirect approach through this special courtier.
- Executioner. Executions were big business in Tudor times and there was a constant demand for skilled executioners. Several tens of thousands of people are likely to have been executed during the reign of Henry VIII alone. One method was called peine forte et dure - crushing to death. This was often used against those who refused to enter a plea in court. There were several other equally brutal methods of execution.
Those living in Tudor times who did not work were termed vagrants. There was much concern about the threat posed by vagrants in the 16th Century and in 1547 the Vagrancy Act stated that able-bodied people who had not worked should be branded with a 'V'.
Video questions
- What did a Tudor merchant do? (Exported goods, such as wool, from England and imported other goods, such as wine and spices, from other countries)
- Where is the 'New World'? (North and South America)
- Can you remember four types of worker that the nobleman employs? (Servants, labourers, gardeners, falconers)
- Where did the young basket weaver come from and how old was she? (From Morocco - when she was still a child)
- What does 'pretty swish threads' mean? (Very nice, stylish clothes)
- Which of the jobs covered do you think you could do? Why?
Further resources
Teacher Notes
Download / print the Teacher Notes for this episode.
Downloadable Transcript. document
Download / print the transcript for this episode.
This film is relevant for teaching History within the National Curriculum at KS2 in England and Northern Ireland and equivalent levels in Scotland and Wales.
6. Tudor travels and the Mary Rose. video
Famous Tudor explorers - Cabot, Raleigh and Drake - and the fate of the Mary Rose.
8. Tudor sports. video
Discovering Tudor sports and pastimes - including jousting, football and tennis.
How the Tudors rose. video
Explaining how Henry Tudor became Henry VII, King of England.
See also...
Music - Songs about life in Tudor times - a collection of songs about life in Tudor times
Dance - The reign of King Henry VIII - exploring the time of Henry VIII through movement and dance
The Tudors - Audio - comic sketches and powerful dramas exploring life during the Tudor dynasty
