Margaret Stuart

Getting around

A record-breaking long-distance ride

In an extraordinary feat of endurance, Sir Robert Carey rode 397 miles from London to Edinburgh in just three days following the Queen's death in 1603. Such journeys were physically demanding and could involve dangerous road conditions, including mud and flood-prone paths.

Daily life

Learning with the wooden hornbook

Most children did not go to school; instead, many learned to read and write using a hornbook, which was a paper sheet with the alphabet and Lord’s Prayer mounted on wood and protected by a thin slice of animal horn.

What people wore

Essential Linen Undergarments

In Elizabethan England, linen shifts or smocks worn next to the skin were essential everyday undergarments for all people, serving as a washable barrier to protect outer clothing from sweat and grease.

Music

Communal Celebratory Singing for Accession Day

Starting in the late 1570s, communal singing became a key way to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Accession Day on November 17, with songs circulating orally or through broadside prints. These songs, which shifted from religious psalms to celebratory ballads, were sung in churches, homes, and alehouses.

At the table

Bread Color and Social Status

Bread color reflected social status; while the wealthy ate fine white wheat bread, ordinary families typically relied on darker breads made from rye or barley.