YEAR 7 King’s Ely Junior pupils visited Mountfitchet Castle in Essex and Clare Castle in Suffolk on June 6th as part of their History course on Medieval England.
Mountfitchet is a recreation of a wooden motte-and-bailey castle and the pupils had the opportunity to go inside the various authentically reconstructed buildings, as they researched what conditions were like for the residents of a castle.
Head of History at King’s Ely Junior, Edward Davis, said: “The experience was enhanced by our pupils trying on armour and suffering medieval punishments such as the stocks, as well as by the many animals, mainly deer and poultry, which freely roam the site. The visit ended with a demonstration of a perrier, a medieval catapult, and the pupils enjoyed learning about the perrier and launching some water balloons from it.
“After lunch, we got back on the coach for the short journey to Clare Castle. There, we climbed 100 feet to the summit of the motte and saw the remains of the shell-keep on the top. There was a short talk on the significance of Clare and the family who owned the castle, and their role in the signing of the Magna Carta. We then walked the short distance to the church to look at the medieval architecture.”
