Teach your KS2 class about Tudor crime and punishment with these ready-to-teach lessons. Whether you're teaching Year 3/4 or Year 5/6, we have a fully-prepared lesson that will teach your children all about common crimes during the Tudor period, and how they were dealt with by law enforcement.
Both of our Tudor Crime and Punishment lessons include:
a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities
a slideshow for the teaching input
a range of printable resources for independent learning activities
Year 3/4 Tudor Crime and Punishment Lesson Pack
£2.99
Scroll through the pictures for a preview of the lessons' resources:
There was no police force in the Tudor times, but there were plenty of strict laws. The king or queen would appoint noblemen to be Justices of the Peace, who were responsible for making sure that the laws were kept in their part of the country. If you were found to have broken a law, you would be punished. The type of punishment depended on the crime - however it was usually harsh, cruel, humiliating, and carried out in public. The Tudors believed that this would deter the criminal from re-committing the crime, while at the same time serve as a warning to others. Watching punishments was encouraged, and even seen as a form of entertainment. Executions in particular were public events which attracted large crowds.
What types of crimes did Tudors commit?
Begging
Life was very hard for the poor during Tudor times. If you didn’t have a job or land to grow crops or rear animals, you had no way of earning money or getting food unless you begged or stole from others. However, only the disabled were allowed by law to beg. Some people tried to make themselves look sick or disabled so they would be able to beg, however if you were caught begging when you weren’t supposed to be, you could be sentenced to death by hanging.
A Tudor man begging
Stealing
Whipping was a common punishment for stealing. You would be tied or chained to a post in a public place, stripped to the waist and whipped. You could be punished like this for something as minor as stealing a loaf of bread.
There were lots of thieves and pickpockets in Tudor times, especially in London. At this time, people kept their money in a purse tied to a belt with string. Thieves were called cutpurses, because they would cut the string so the purse fell into their hands. If you were caught stealing, you could have one of your hands cut off. You would also be branded with a ‘T’ on your forehead to show others you were a thief. Branding is when a very hot iron is put on the skin to burn it and leave a mark.
A pickpocket at work in a market
Gossiping/talking too much
If a woman was thought to be a ‘gossip’, spoke too freely or told their husbands off too much, they were put in a scold’s bridle (or brank’s bridle). This was a small metal cage that was placed over a woman’s head with a bit to put between her teeth. It was extremely uncomfortable, and made speaking impossible. The husband could then lead her around with a rope attached to the bridle to humiliate her.
View and download a free Tudor Crime and Punishment Word Search
Drunkenness
If you were found drunk in public, you would be forced to wear the ‘drunkard’s cloak’. This was a barrel with holes cut out for your head, legs and arms. It was very heavy and awkward to move around in.
A woman in a scold's bridle being led around by her husband, and a man in a drunkard's barrel
Drunkenness, as well as other minor crimes including: swearing, fighting in the streets, failure to pay debts, or failing to wear a hat on Sunday, were also commonly punishable with either the stocks or the pillory. These were wooden frames which trapped you inside them (in the stocks, you sat down and your feet were trapped, and in the pillory, you stood up and your head and hands were trapped.) Passer
