Schools - KS2
Meet Mrs Humphries – costumed tourSuitable for KS2
Recommended maximum: 32 pupils (larger groups and extra activities by arrangement)
Duration: 90 minutes
The year is 1850 and Mrs Humphries is Housekeeper at Bodelwyddan Castle. She is the most senior female servant and responsible for ensuring that the wishes of Sir John Hay Williams and his wife, Lady Sarah, are carried out to the letter by the servants she trains and manages. She is both loved and feared by her staff. Mrs Humphries knows all the ins and outs of life above and below stairs. Children participating in this actor-led tour divide into two groups, dress up in character and play the part of either the privileged guest of the Williams family or a servant arriving for their first day of work – all costumes are provided. Both groups take part in the tour together and discover how the household is run through stories and the opportunity to touch and try out some of the tools of their trade. This fascinating and enjoyable tour encourages children to experience for themselves some of the differences between the lives of the Victorian rich and poor – in the home, food, clothing, work and leisure, attitudes and ideas, and the roles of men, women and children.
How this costumed tour supports the National Curriculum
Investigating Portraits (b)
Suitable for KS2
Recommended maximum: 30 pupils (larger groups and extra activities by arrangement)
Duration: 90 minutes - 2 hours
Bodelwyddan Castle, the home of the National Portrait Gallery in Wales, offers the perfect location for learning about portraiture. In this session we look at original British Victorian portraits and 20th century examples of Welsh portrait painting alongside illustrations of portraits from different cultures. Investigating Portraits is an artist-led workshop that introduces children to portraiture, including the reasons why portraits are painted, characterisation, the ways artists use non-verbal communication to tell us about the person in the picture and some of the creative methods used by artists to express ideas and feelings about a person. Children will make comparisons between portraits by Welsh artists in a sketching activity to encourage observation skills. This is followed by an activity exploring self-portraits, where they will use a range of creative materials and techniques to examine and express their own identity, leading to their own self-portrait design.
How this portrait workshop supports the National Curriculum
Landscapes and Your Environment (b)
Suitable for KS 2
Recommended maximum: 30 pupils (larger groups and extra activities by arrangement)
Duration: 90 minutes - 2 hours
Inspired by our collection of Welsh art, this artist-led workshop introduces the idea of how a landscape can change over time and explores what events or activities can lead to those changes. We use examples of 18th and 19th century artworks of Bodelwyddan compared with modern photographs and discuss what effect different perspectives have on the way we understand things. Pupils then have an opportunity to respond through discussion and a sketching activity to the selection of Welsh landscape painting on display in the Education Room. Based on this initial exercise, pupils will develop their ideas into a more significant piece of creative two or three-dimensional artwork, either individually or collaboratively, using their imagination to design and construct.
How this landscape workshop supports the National Curriculum
Patterns in Nature
Suitable for KS2
Recommended maximum: 30 pupils (larger groups and extra activities by arrangement)
Duration: 90 minutes - 2 hours
The Victorians often filled their homes with designs inspired by the natural world. The historic rooms at Bodelwyddan Castle offer many examples of the ways designers, including William Morris, created stylised patterns from nature using simplified and repeated forms. In this workshop, pupils take inspiration from the historic patterns and develop their own designs through a series of sketching exercises. Pupils learn about the traditional woodblock printing technique, used extensively in fabric and wallpaper designs, and have an opportunity to try printing with hand carved wood blocks. Using their own designs, pupils then go on to create and print from their own ‘wood blocks’ and will be able to take their original prints back to school.
How this workshop supports the National Curriculum