Year 3 visit Windsor Castle
The very wet weather did not dampen our spirits as we explored Windsor Castle to look closely at all of the features of a Norman Motte and Bailey which had been originally built by William the Conqueror. We sat in the arrow slits, walked beneath the murder holes and saw how steep the motte actually was. We imagined how difficult it would have been for a knight wearing chain armour to to climb up to attack the keep.
Our talk on knights took place in the state apartments. We found out about the different people who would have lived in a castle; kings, queens, knights, cooks, maids and knight. During the talk, Martin explained the process of becoming a knight. Max played the role of page, Vihaan the squire and Rufus and Ivy the knight. (We know girls couldn’t have been knights in Medieval England) We learnt all about the Garter Ceremony and then, all dressed in velvet cloaks and feathered hats, we knelt before the queen to be dubbed on each shoulder with a sword.
Finally, we stood beside one of the guards on duty outside his sentry box for a photograph. We were expecting him to be dressed in a red tunic and a bear skin just like in all the pictures we had seen. He was, in fact, wearing a green jacket and a peaked hat as a representative of The Gurkhas battalion.