Tudor life

The Tudor era lasted from 1485 – when Henry VII defeated the Yorkist king Richard III at the battle of Bosworth – until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. So what was life like during Tudor times?

First built in 1576, the Globe theatre burnt to the ground in 1613. During a performance of the play now known as 'Henry VIII', a set of stage cannons were fired and a piece of flaming material from one of the cannons landed on the theatre’s thatched roof, causing the fire. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Elizabethan

Why the Tudors grab us

From The Library

Unlock now

Henry VIII “regarded his wars as the worthy successors of the great martial victories of England’s past”, says Steven Gunn. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

Tudor

Total war in Tudor England

From The Library

Unlock now

Hever Castle. (Photo by: Prisma Bildagentur/UIG via Getty Images)

Tudor

8 must-visit castles with Tudor connections

John Blanke. (Illustration: Rose Wilkinson for BBC History Magazine)

Tudor

Black faces of Tudor England

From The Library

Unlock now

Podcast-Website-large-Miranda-Kaufmann-8419c34

Tudor

Black Tudors

Tudor

Life in Tudor London

A view of Hampton Court Palace, London. (Getty Images)

Tudor

Simon Thurley on the architectural history of the Tudors

From The Library

Unlock now

Musician and dancing fool in Paris, 14th century. (Christophel Fine Art/UIG via Getty Images)

Medieval

What was life like for a court jester?

Cardinal Wolsey going in procession to Westminster Hall. Reproduced from the original by Sir John Gilbert in 1886-7. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Tudor

Through foreign eyes: the forgotten ambassadors to the Tudor court

Tudor

The reluctant ambassador: the life and times of Tudor diplomat Sir Thomas Chaloner

Mary I was defined by her intense piety and sober-mindedness but, says Tracy Borman, England’s first crown queen regnant was a different woman in the closeted world of her privy chamber. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Tudor

Accessibility Links

Tudor life

5 facts about Shakespeare’s Globe theatre

Tudor women: what was life like?

Tudor timeline: 10 momentous dates

Why the Tudors grab us

From The Library

Total war in Tudor England

From The Library

8 must-visit castles with Tudor connections

Black faces of Tudor England

From The Library

Black Tudors

Life in Tudor London

Simon Thurley on the architectural history of the Tudors

From The Library

What was life like for a court jester?

Through foreign eyes: the forgotten ambassadors to the Tudor court

The reluctant ambassador: the life and times of Tudor diplomat Sir Thomas Chaloner

The Tudors behind closed doors