English Heritage helps teachers look into holes!

Mon, Mar 12, 2012 10:08 CET

Thanks to a new Teachers’ Kit launched by English Heritage’s education team, teachers visiting castles in English Heritage’s care around the country are being invited to look at the masonry ruins in a whole new light – by encouraging their children to look into an array of holes that can be found in any historic fortification.

“Castles – the ‘hole’ story” is a free resource which uses the idea of holes of all kinds to help children understand the workings and functions of a castle – from the essential wells that provided water to keep the castle’s defenders hydrated during a siege, to the ‘murder holes’ through which boiling water or oil could be poured to repel invaders!

“As many of the castles in our care are now ruins, it can be quite tricky for children to understand quite how they were used when there are roofs and floors missing, but by looking at the holes that were incorporated into the castles’ designs, there are often clues which they can interpret to help them understand why the castle was built in a particular way, and even how it was built,” comments English Heritage’s head of education and interpretation, Sandra Stancliffe.

The guide is aimed at KS1 & 2 teachers, and contains photographic examples of some of the different kinds of holes that you’d find in a castle – including keyholes, putlog holes which were used to support scaffolding or ceiling/floor supports, arrow loops for defence and even the garderobe – the medieval castle’s very own ‘privvy’!

“Even a teacher who has never before visited a castle could use this guide to help their pupils understand why it was built and how it was used, and with the theme of holes covering everything from defence to dirty water, it has very widespread appeal to children of all ages and abilities,” adds Sandra.

This Teachers’ Kit can also be used by teachers visiting English Heritage castles all around the country – including Dover Castle in Kent, Pendennis Castle in Cornwall, Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, Clifford’s Tower in York and Carlisle Castle in Cumbria. It can be downloaded at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/castles-hole-story-tk/ and is just one of a wide and growing range of free online resources for teachers , including the first online edition of Heritage Learning magazine (Issue 45 on Communication and Technology) - www.english-heritage.org.uk/education/heritage-learning/).

For more information on free educational visits to English Heritage sites around the country, please call the dedicated Education booking team on 0870 333 0606 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/education

ENDS

For further media information, please contact:

Jay Commins – PRO English Heritage (Education)

Tel: 0113 251 5698

Mob: 07810 546567

Email: jay@fim.org.uk