About the Hackney Tudors Project
"I enjoyed everything, especially the drama games." Oscar
"I liked the play best, and would have liked time to write a full-length play." Sunil
"I found the dancing difficult, but I enjoyed it and would have liked more." Ashley
"I found the old church especially interesting, and would like to go there again." Kelsie
"I enjoyed everything, and would like to be able to take more photos." Millar
"I enjoyed it all, but would like more time and to be able to make a Tudor costume." Pablo
This website has been set up as part of a continuing project for Hackney children and their families.
Mary Tudor in Hackney
In spring 2006 groups of local children recreated the time when Henry VIII's daughter Mary was confined in Thomas Cromwell's house on what is now the Lea Bridge Roundabout. The teenage Mary Tudor was banished from Court, separated from her friends and rarely allowed out until she agreed that her parents' marriage had been invalid and she herself illegitimate.
In a series of workshops and activities, the children took on the identities of members of real Hackney families of the 1530s, traced from the surviving records, and worked together to research and imagine what their lives were like, how they were affected by the advent of a royal person in their midst and what their attitudes were to the vast and fast-paced changes that were taking place around them.
Children learned about Tudor music and dance, walked the route Mary Tudor would have taken between Brook House and church, took photographs of the evidence they found of her and others' lives and problems, did their own research and shared ideas. We then worked together to devise an entertainment for Mary. It was full of messages for her - sage advice, plans for escape and pleas for her help - but these had to be presented so as to get past the spies who surrounded her.
Ralph Sadleir's 500th Birthday
1507 saw the birth of Ralph Sadleir, the son of a minor court official, who was to become a protégé of Thomas Cromwell, survive almost certain death when his master fell, emerge from the Tower to become instead a respected servant of the crown, and finally die at over 80, rich, influential and secure.
Sadleir is remembered in Hackney as the builder of Sutton House - by rights Sadleir House, and then known as the Bryk Place. Before the house was restored in the 1990s, Ralph Sadleir's connection with Hackney had been long forgotten, and his memory largely confined to historical footnotes.
Over several months in 2007, children from two local schools took part in workshops during which they discovered Sadleir's house and his times; some of them staged a performance to celebrate his life.
Some of their work, and photographs of their performance at Sutton House appear on the site.
Acknowledgements
The 2007 stage of the project was a partnership between Rushmore and Grasmere Primary Schools, the Sutton House Society, Passamezzo and Clio's Company.
The workshop leaders were Will Birch, Lissa Chapman, Paul Hampton, Peter Kenny, Alison Kinder, Duncan Law, Tamsin Lewis, and Kit Williams.
The project was funded by grants from Awards for All and the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.
The project partners would like to thank the National Trust at Sutton House for their assistance and support.
The future of Hackney Tudors
We are planning and fundraising for the next stage in the project. We will be working with other children in more schools to make further discoveries about Tudor Hackney, which will appear on the website. To learn more or to make a donation, please contact us.