Bede's World - January

On Tuesday Year 5 went to Bede's World in Jarrow. When we arrived we met our guide Kathy, who took us to a classroom to have our lunch. After we had finished lunch, Kathy told us about Saxon clothes.

Jessica Clark and Ben Remnant were chosen to dress in Saxon clothes. Ben was called Ethelfrith and Jessica was called Ethelburga. Ben was given a tunic to put on and Jessica was given a dress. They also wore things like head scarves and belts. Ben was given a dagger and Jessica was given a spindle to spin wool. A Saxon man carried a dagger to kill animals and to skin them.

After that we went outside to look at the farm and the Saxon village. The animals we saw on the farm were all similar to Saxon breeds. First we saw geese, ducks and chickens. The geese were used as guards and their feathers were used for pillows and quills.

The animals all had their own little huts made from wattle and daub with thatch roofs. We also saw Bluey the goat, and two huge pigs, called Millie and Hilda, which were more like wild boar. Lastly we saw four different breeds of sheep which came from Scottish islands.

We also saw a few vegetables that the Saxons could grow in winter. They ate wild cabbage, broccoli, purple and white carrots and leeks. Sometimes Saxon people got scurvy because they didn't have enough Vitamin C. We also saw a patch of ground where they grew plants for dyeing clothes..

We walked on a little further to look at Saxon houses. The first one we went into was dug into the ground with a triangular roof made of heather. This was called a Grubber House and James Gordon told us that Grubber means food in German, and this is where we get the word grub.

In the chief's hut we sat around the fire but it wasn't lit because health and safety said it was too dangerous. We told riddles like the Saxons would have done. We talked about what we found unusual about a Saxon house. We thought that it would be fun to sleep there for a little bit but most of us would rather sleep in our own beds. Most of us weren't sure that we would want to be in the same room as animals all night.

After we left the chief's house, we went up the hill to look around. There was nothing Saxon in sight, only the huge Nissan car parks full of diggers and cars waiting to be shipped abroad.

We just had time to look at all the interesting exhibits in the museum before it was time to return to school.

We would like to thank Mrs Solly, Mr Spencer and Miss Cashmore for taking us on such an enjoyable trip and the kitchen ladies for making us a packed lunch.

Members of Year 5