Chiltern Open Air Museum - History Re-eactment Workshop

Come and join in as the servants of the young George Fleetwood, owner of the nearby Vache house and estate, prepare for Christmas. An interactive event with the chance to join in with the decorations.

This is part of a wider event over the weekend with Festive actives from different periods.

This year we brought a Tudor Petty Court Session to visit the museum again. We held 2 sessions per day, each hearing 3 cases. Thank you for your support, as every session was filled to capacity.

At the time the cases would have been decided by the Justice of the Peace rather than a jury. For this interpretation, we hope you found it interesting to act as part of the Jury and see how the modern attitudes differ from those over 400 years ago. Jurys were used in the Tudor period, but at higher courts that the Petty session, which dealt with minor local offences, such as watering the ale.

We brought farming to life with the title 'from field to table.' The crops were reaped in the fields and collected in to stooks. Then they were threshed and winnowed in the threshing barn, before being milled and baked into bread. While that was going on, there was hay making, food and medicine preparation and various Tudor games. Throughout the visitors helped and had a go at various tasks such as scaring the crows and threshing the corn.

We set our marquee up as a room in The White Horse Inn, situated on the London to Aylesbury road, so we could see a variety of customers visit. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any reference to a known inn going back to the Tudor times, so it was based on our research in other locations.

Set in 1589 meant our travelling sailor had the opportunity to talk about his adventures fighting the Spanish Armada, along with a gent stopping enroute from London and some local visitors. Working hard were the Landlady Elizabeth and her staff.

Visitors to the site came into the Inn and sat with the characters to discuss life and also join in with a small beer.

Thanks to Raphael Historic Falconry for allowing Master Batt to hold a hawk. It was a privilege and a gorgeous bird.

Moving to a new century from previous events, we took James Clayton and his wife Mary to eat in the great outdoors to discuss plans for their garden and Estate while entertaining friends and family.