COSMESTON
MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
EDUCATION PACK
TEACHERS GUIDE
A GUIDE FOR EDUCATIONAL VISITS AND
ACTIVITY SESSIONS
COSMESTON MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
Guidance for School Visits
This Guidance is intended to assist schools in the planning of an educational visit to Cosmeston
Medieval Village.
Prior to an educational visit, representatives are welcome to visit and carry out a risk assessment
prior to visiting the site. Alternatively an assessment can be provided from the site itself. A pre-site
visit can be requested by Teachers and leaders at any between the hours of 09.30 and 17:00 daily
including weekends.
Please contact site reception to confirm time of visit. [029 20701678]
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Medieval Village opening times – 10.00 a.m. – 16:00 p.m. Nov – March
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Medieval Village opening times – 10.00 a.m. – 17:00 p.m. April – October
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Schools should ensure that all groups have adequate supervision in line with their school policy
whilst at the Medieval Village. It is recommended that for:Key Stage 1 there should be a ratio of 1 – 7
Key Stage 2 there should be a ratio of 1 – 10
Key Stage 3 and above 1 – 15
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Visitors with Special Needs are welcome at the Medieval Village.
All parts of the site are accessible to wheel chairs, disabled toilets are provided and audio units can
be used by anyone with a visual impairment.
Please inform staff on booking of any special requirements. N.B Special Needs pupils may require
higher levels of Supervision according to circumstances. Please ensure supervision is provided.
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In addition to a tour of the Village, a choice of activities can be chosen out of the five offered. It
is essential that schools book any required activities when booking their visit. The Village
management reserves the right to alter some activities if the weather is inclement on the day of
visit.
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Any number of pupils can be catered for at any one visit. The ratio per group works out at
twenty-five pupils per costumed guide. Although the Medieval village is set in the mid 14th
Century, please be aware that all themes can be catered for re; Norman Conquest, ecclesiastical,
black death, economic and military life etc. When booking visit, please indicate what specifics
are being covered so the guide can tailor his/her tour to your visit.
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Price Price -
£1.00 per child for school visit.
50p per child for activities.
COSMESTON MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
Dear Schools,
Would you like to offer your pupils a unique experience?
At Cosmeston Medieval Village we offer you the chance to step back in time to see what life was
really like for the people, rich and poor, who lived around the manor of Cosmeston, near Penarth in
the Vale of Glamorgan. This Anglo-Welsh village has been reconstructed on it’s original site as it
was in the year 1350.
However if you wish to specify earlier or later periods such as the Norman Conquest or the
rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, we are able to cater for all needs. Due to the inhabitants of the village
being a mixture of Welsh, French or English descent, your group can experience a variety of
different attitudes and views based around the type of character represented by your costumed
guide. All guides are trained in 1st to 3rd person interpretation techniques to enhance the pupil’s
medieval experience.
During the visit pupils can;
 Try on replica armour
 See how village peasants prepared food
 Find out what gruesome punishments were in store for criminals
 Listen to tales of Battles and see the weapons of warfare
 Find out about medieval medicine and cures
 Find out about what life was really like and how people lived in the Middle Ages.
Every year at the Medieval Village, staff, run a wide-ranging programme of events for all visitors.
In addition to these for educational visits we also run a range of special activities. These have been
planned in conjunction with the most recent National Curriculum documents. Five activity sessions
are offered. Apart from the village tour, schools can choose any two to undertake during their visit.
The Village tour lasts 50 minutes to an hour while activities range from 15 to 30 minutes.
Activities must be booked when initial booking is made.
Schools can choose from the following activities: 1. Handling Artefacts
2. Weapons and Warfare
3. Bread Baking
4. Role-play and Drama
5. Storytelling
ACTIVITY SESSIONS
1.) HANDLING ARTEFACTS
K.S. 1,2 and 3 Key Element 4
Throughout the Key Stages, teachers should ensure pupils have experiences of handling a wide
range of historical objects so as to gather information about the past. They do this best by
speculating upon the origins of and use of artefacts. They should be encouraged to compare them in
terms of age and sophistication and be encouraged to ask questions about them. During this session
the children will be given opportunity to handle and explore replica artefacts from the Medieval
Village, whilst being encouraged by costumed guides to channel their curiosity into specific areas
of historical enquiry.
Cross Curricular Opportunities.
ART
Children can sketch artefacts for further study back in class. Paintings, prints, sketch and drawings
can be made from the initial sketch. Children can explore further by the use of texture in the
artefacts particularly wood and material.
DESIGN / TECHNOLOGY
Children could design their own vessels and objects similar to those explored. Models could also be
made in class based on artefacts studied in the village.
HISTORY
Children could research the artefacts they have studied further in class. They could explore who
would have used the objects and how they were used. Timelines can also be introduced placing
objects in chronological order.
I.C.T
Research could involve using textbooks, I.C.T and Internet. Interactive white board sessions could
look at plans of the village placing different artefacts in the correct cottages.
LANGUAGE
The children could then share information through a talk or display put together. Children could
design a pamphlet about the artefacts they have experienced bringing together all aspects of
learning.
ACTIVITY SESSIONS
2.) WEAPONS AND WARFARE
Key Stages 1,2 and 3 Key Element 1,2 and 4
During this activity session the children experience the transition of early medieval weaponry to the
more sophisticated methods of warfare. Children are able to see replica weapons and listen how
they were used in combat during the Middle Ages. During the session children will be able to
handle, under supervision replica armour and try on a variety of helmets. This will help them
experience the difficulties faced by the fighting man in the Medieval period. A child is usually
asked to volunteer to be dressed as a knight to demonstrate the garments worn by knights in battle.
Children can see at first hand the difficulties experienced by a soldier in armour on the battlefield –
restricted movement, restricted vision etc.
Cross-Curricular Opportunities
MATHEMATICS
Children can calculate back in class the weight of each item worn during battle and then calculate
the total weight carried by a fully armed man. Comparisons with other objects can be made to make
this more real to the children.
LANGUAGE
Children can write as if they are going into battle wearing armour. They could write a diary account
of their feelings as they prepare themselves for the battle. They could also write a newspaper report
about a battle.
I.C.T
Newspaper reports could be assembled using a variety of packages on computers. They could put
together a news item about a battle which children could then present as roving reporters from the
battlefield.
SCIENCE
A study can be made on the materials used to make weapons and armour. The children can look at
the properties of different materials and discover which would be most suitable and why.
ART/DESIGN /TECHNOLOGY
Children could make suits of armour and helmets. They could design their own coat of arms to
display on shields, which could also be painted or made into collages. Large wall displays can be
made using all artwork. This could develop into a study on heraldry, colour and pattern. Children
could further this idea by making up their own coats of arms for their family.
ACTIVITY SESSIONS
3.) BREAD BAKING AND FOOD
Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 Key Element 2
During the bread baking session the children are told about the most resented man in the village –
the village baker. The children discover the reasons for the resentment when they are told about
some of the ways in which the baker cheats the villagers. He demonstrates the methods used in
baking of bread and the laws which govern it. The children are shown the relevant ingredients used
in bread baking and the ovens the baker uses to bake the bread.
Food relevant to the period will also be discussed and the children have the opportunity to play a
sorting game by looking at a variety of period food and deciding which was around during the
medieval period and which was not. The tour around the village shows where the village food was
grown.
Cross- Curricular Opportunities
MATHEMATICS
When back in school the children can make a study on weights and measures. They will be familiar
with non-standard measures and this is how the villagers would have weighed ingredients. Children
can look at modern day methods grams, Kilograms etc. for a comparison. They could use modern
bread making recipes to look at the units of measurement used in the village.
LANGUAGE
The study of recipes can develop into language. Children could research medieval recipes and write
them out for their own medieval cookbook. This could also be illustrated with relevant pictures.
Again medieval texts such as the Lutterel Psalter can give ides for artwork.
GEOGRAPHY
In Medieval times many areas were self sufficient, but today we trade all over the world. As a
comparison children could visit their local supermarket and investigate where food they buy comes
from. Maps of origins and graph work could result.
SCIENCE
A study on materials could investigate changes in materials. This activity demonstrates how some
changes are reversible but some, such as baking bread, are not. Children could make their own
bread in school to further this investigation.
ACTIVITY SESSIONS
4.) ROLE PLAY – ‘CRIME AND PUNISHMENT’
Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 Key Element 2, 3 and 5
During this session the pupils find out about the crimes committed during the Middle Ages and how
the criminals were punished by the Manor Court. Children are given roles to act out, some are the
criminals and some are members of the Court. A Court session is held with the criminals being
brought before the Lord of the Manor. The children are told about the different crimes commonly
committed and the children have to plead before the Court. The members of the Court then give
punishment depending on the severity of the crime. All crimes and punishments discussed are found
in documented period records. All children are given a role to play during the session. Importantly
this exercise shows the difference of the social status of the villagers and their view of crimes and
punishment i.e. some are determined to see justice done, whilst others err on the side of the
criminal.
Cross-Curricular Opportunities
LANGUAGE
Children can write their own role play Court sessions. Working in-groups the children can plan a
court session and write a script to act out in class.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The children could video tape their Manorial Court sessions. They could then make a leaflet
explaining what is happening on the video explaining the different crimes and punishments
examined.
ART AND CRAFT
A large wall frieze depicting the Manorial Court session would be an informative and attractive way
to enhance the children’s work on this area. Groups could collage different pictures showing the
crimes whist others work on the background of the Court itself. Contrasting colours and textures
from different status costume would also make an interesting study. Poor status costume tended to
be coarser wool and linen whist members of the upper end of the social scale had fine wool, velvets
and brocade. This would form an important part of the children’s understanding of texture in art. A
display of the different textures found in Medieval Clothing would also make an interesting study.
ACTIVITY SESSIONS
5.) STORY TELLING
Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 Key Element 2, 3, 4 and 5
Depending on weather, pupils are seated either on the village green/field story tree or if inclement
the session will take place inside a building. They are then introduced to stories from folklore,
myths and legends. Some of the children are asked to take part in the telling of the story by the use
of simple props. As the villager tells a tale the children are given the props to use in the scene.
Legends from the Mabinogion are used, as are stories about Owain Glyndwr and other Welsh
heroes. Simple ‘mummers’ plays are also used. The children are introduced to a common method of
entertainment used in the Middle Ages in this way. During medieval fayres it was common place
for a storyteller to take up a position on the village green.
Cross-Curricular Opportunities
LANGUAGE
Children can retell the stories they have heard during the session on the village green when they
return to class. They may wish to write their own versions of the stories they have heard or they
may wish to research other myths and legends pertaining to their local area. A book could be made
of the children’s stories. They may even wish to make their stories into plays and act them out for
the rest of the class. Extensive work could be done on the stories in the Mabinogion.
ART AND CRAFT
Pupils could paint pictures depicting their favourite stories. These could also be illustrated using felt
pens, pastels or crayon. Collages of different stories put together in a large wall frieze can enhance
the display of children’s work. A variety of textures and materials would make an interesting
background on which to display the children’s written work.
HISTORY
Children could research other favourite pastimes and entertainment from the Middle Ages such as
music and dance,
N.B. During inclement weather both activity 4 and 5 can be held in doors in either the tithe
barn or a cottage.