Family Life
Henry Redman
This information was last updated in 2004. The Tudors have not changed, but our understanding of them might!
Today London is a sprawling metropolis of some seven million people. The city has spread as far as the M25 and beyond. In the Tudor period (1485-1603) London was a fraction of the size, consisting of the square mile of the walled City itself, and the satellite communities of Westminster and Southwark.
Nonetheless, London was by far the largest city in the country. It was the political, social and commercial capital of Britain. Throughout the 16th century, London continued to grow in size and importance. By the end of the century, the population had grown four times as large, from an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 people.
What was life like for the people who lived in this city? Who were they and where had they come from? What jobs did they do? How many children did they have and how were they educated? How did the religious upheavals of the period affect their daily lives?
The aim of this website is to enable KS2 pupils to discover the answers to questions such as these. The site focuses on six objects from the Museum of London's collection, each of which has an association with an individual Londoner and provides evidence to illuminate a topical theme.