Each year the Chalke Valley History Festival presents over 200 historical talks and Living History events. We have long been aware these would be very useful resources for teachers. With the support of the Foyle Foundation and the Chalke Valley History Trust, we are pleased to provide a selection as videos for Key Stages 2 – 5, with accompanying teacher notes.
We have also included some bonus content below, which are linked to the curriculum but don’t answer specific questions. Hopefully they help bring history alive to your students.
These are just a taster of what will eventually become available.
To help us present these resources in the most useful way, easily catalogued and with good support material, we would be very grateful to receive your reactions via the questionnaire. Your response will help us shape future developments.
Generously supported by:
The Iron Age Forge – Tom Timbrell
Tom Timbrell talks about the job of an Iron Age blacksmith.
Key Stage: 2 | Period: Iron Age | Theme: Technology
10 Significant Things to Know About Henry VIII – Dominic Sandbrook
Dominic Sandbrook lists ten significant things to know about Henry VIII.
Key Stage: 2 & 3 | Period: Tudors | Theme: Henry VIII, Monarchy
Tudors, Food and the Roots of Empire – Alex Compiani
Alex Compiani discusses a selection of newly discovered spices that were enjoyed in Tudor times, as well as the routes – and the roots – of the British Empire.
Key Stage: 2 & 3 | Period: Tudors | Theme: Food, Empire
The First World War: Feeding the Frontlines – Staff Sergeant Harry Potts
Staff Sergeant Harry Potts describes how soldiers in the trenches in the First World War were fed.
Key Stage: 2 & 3 | Period: First World War | Theme: Food, War
Elizabeth I – Tracy Borman
Tracy Borman discusses her judgements on key aspects of Elizabeth’s reign.
Key Stage: 2, 3 & 4 | Period: Tudors | Theme: Queen Elizabeth I, Monarchy
History’s Maid: The Cold War – Kate Vigurs
Kate Vigurs tells the story of the Cold War from 1945 to 1989 particularly from the point of view of how it affected people’s lives in Berlin.
Key Stage: 4 | Period: Cold War | Theme: War, Society
Living in Nazi Germany – Julia Boyd
Julia Boyd describes how ordinary lives in one particular village in southern Germany were transformed by Nazi laws and policies.
Key Stage: 4 | Period: Inter-war Years | Theme: Nazism, Society
A Personal History of the Modern Middle East – Lt. Gen Sir Simon Mayall
Lieutenant-General Sir Simon Mayall gives his views on the significance of the Middle East in the past, the present and in the future.
Key Stage: 5 | Period: Middle East | Theme: Middle East
Bonus content
Flour making in the 1800s – Jane’s Historical Kitchen
Jane demonstrates the process of grinding grain to make flour by hand with a small quern such as would be used for a family.
Key Stage: 1 & 2 | Period: 19th Century | Theme: Food
Charcoal: The Fuel of the Industrial Revolution – Pete Jameson
Pete Jameson opens up his kiln to reveal the charcoal he has just made. He explains that charcoal has been made and used by blacksmiths throughout history to work iron as it burns with a high temperature. It was the main fuel for the 18th century Industrial Revolution in Britain.
Key Stage: 1 & 2 | Period: 18th Century, 19th Century | Theme: Industrial Revolution
The Roman Cutler – Thomas Timbrell
Thomas Timbrell demonstrates several specialised knives made by Roman cutlers and tells us what they reveal about some different aspects of the Roman way of life.
Key Stage: 2 | Period: Romans | Theme: Technology
The Power of the Longbow – Will Sherman
Will Sherman demonstrates the longbows he has made. These are based on exact copies of the longbows found in the wreck of the Tudor warship the ‘Mary Rose’ and so provide useful information about the size and power of late medieval longbows. He describes the History longbows and demonstrates the use and effectiveness of different types of arrowheads.
Key Stage: 2 | Period: Tudors | Theme: Tools and Technology
Circus Maximus – Annelise Gray
Annelise Grey discusses chariot racing at Rome’s Circus Maximus.
Key Stage: 2 | Period: Romans | Theme: Entertainment
Imperial Resistance: Who Dared to Stand Up to the British Empire – Shalina Patel
Shalina Patel explains the origins of the British Empire in India. She goes on to the reasons for Indian resistance to British rule and draws our attention to some lesser-known but significant figures in Indian resistance, including several women.
Key Stage: 3, 4 | Period: British Raj | Theme: Empire
The Dorset Smuggler – Dave Allen
Dave Allen is a Dorset smuggler from the 18th Century, a time when smuggling was rife along the coast of England.
Key Stage: 3, 4 | Period: 18th Century, 19th Century | Theme: Crime and punishment
Corpse and Effect: Body Snatching in Britain – Paul Bavill
Paul Bavill investigates the grizzly work of a 19th century body snatcher.
Key Stage: 3, 4 | Period: 19th Century | Theme: Medicine, Crime and punishment
Finding Marginalised Voices in the Archives – Julia Laite
Julia Laite explains that ‘marginalised people’ are those who have left little or no record of their lives. Historians wanting to tell a more complete history of the past have therefore been presented with a problem. She goes on to describe how new technology has helped historians find out much more about marginalised people as the digitisation of archive records has made them more widely accessible.
Key Stage: 5 | Period: Modern | Theme: Researching History
