Introduction to this resource

Welcome to the London Archaeological Archive

See what Tudor London looked like from this map of 1574

Map of London, 1574

Find out about Newgate, one of the gates into the City of London

Painting of London as seen from Southwark, mid-17th century

Find out about the different activities that took place in the fields outside Tudor London

Map showing the area to the north of the walls of the City of London, 1559

Map of the eastern part of the City of London, 1559

Find out what London Bridge was like in Tudor times

Find out about the dangers of living in a house on London Bridge

Model of London Bridge as it would have looked in the 16th century

Find out about the dangers of travelling by boat underneath London Bridge

View of London Bridge, late 16th - early 17th century

Find out about the decapitated heads of criminals that were displayed on London Bridge

View of London Bridge, 1616

Model of the west side of London Bridge, as it would have looked about 1600

View of the City of London, Westminster and Southwark, 1543

Find out about Cheapside and the royal processions that took place there

Find out how drinking water was supplied to London

View of Cheapside during the procession of Queen Mother, Maria de Medici

Find out where a hoard of 16th and 17th-century jewellery was found on Cheapside

The Cheapside Hoard - the greatest collection of Tudor and Jacobean jewellery ever discovered

Find out about the government of the City of London at the Guildhall

Find out what it was like to be Lord Mayor of Tudor London

Find out about the Great Hall at the Guildhall, which was a banqueting hall and court room

Find out about Tudor street repairs in Holborn

Find out what it was like to live as a law student at Staple Inn

Find out what Tudor houses looked like

View of the Tower of London from the River Thames, 1647

Find out how the Tower of London had many different parts, including a zoo and a prison

Plan of the Tower of London, 1597

Find out what it was like to be a rich prisoner in the Tower of London

Painting of the Beauchamp Tower where noble prisoners were held at the Tower of London, 1798

Find out about some of the famous Tudor prisoners in the Tower of London

Find out how less fortunate prisoners were tortured at the Tower of London

Photo of the Tower of London, taken in 2006

Fuming pot, used to burn sweet-smelling herbs, thought to prevent the spread of plague

Find out about how the plague affected Tudor London

Find out how people tried to stop the plague using fuming pots

Drug jar, used to contain medicines, ointments or cosmetics, late 16th - mid 17th century

Find out about medicine jars, who made them and how they were used

Drug jar with lid, used to contain medicines, ointments or cosmetics

Gold coin probably given by the king to people suffering from the skin disease scrofula

Find out how the disease scrofula was treated in Tudor times

Find out about conditions for rich and poor prisoners at Newgate prison

Find out about 'jail fever' and the poor conditions for prisoners in Newgate prison

Find out how a pump under London Bridge provided drinking water for Tudor Londoners

Bone ear scoop, used for cleaning wax from ears

Find out how Tudor people cleaned their ears

Find out how Tudor people kept their hair looking nice

Wooden comb

Find out about the toilets at Hampton Court Palace

Chamber pot, used as a portable indoor toilet

Find out about Tudor toilets

Find out who cleaned out the cesspits of Tudor London

Find out about the cloth trade and how it made London rich

Bottle imported to London from Frechen in Germany, mid-16th - 17th century

Find out how Tudor pins were made

Pinner's bone, used in the making of pins, 16th century

Find out how thimbles were used for sewing

Thimble used to protect a person's finger when sewing

Find out how Tudor people first started to smoke tobacco

Clay tobacco pipe, used for smoking, late 16th century

Find out how combs were made from ivory

Pieces of elephant ivory left over after making combs and knife handles, 16th century

Find out how a leather purse was made

Leather drawstring purse, opened out flat, late 16th century

Princess Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

See a Tudor shoe buckle

Shoe buckle, 16th century

See a typical Tudor shoe and understand how it was decorated

Leather shoe, decorated with slashes, mid-16th century

Find out about Tudor shoe fashions

Leather shoe, with a very fashionable wide toe, about 1510

Find out about shoes for rich and poor, men and women

Leather jerkin (sleeveless jacket), mid-16th century

See a fashionable Tudor leather jerkin

Panel from a leather jerkin (sleeveless jacket), mid-16th century

See a Tudor lace used to fasten a shirt

Lace made from braided silk used to fasten the collar or cuffs of a shirt, early 16th century

See a leather sheath, used for holding a Tudor knife

Leather sheath for a knife, 16th century

Wearing a replica Tudor 'gabled' headdress

Find out about women's headdresses and how they were made

Woman's headdress frame made from a curved piece of wire, mid-16th century

Find out why pins were so important when getting dressed in Tudor times

Pins used for fastening clothes, 16th century

Fashions for rich people, 1540s

Fashions for rich people, 1590s

Find out about the entertainment district of Bankside and how people travelled there from the City of London

See a Tudor gaming counter from a board game

Wooden counter or game piece from a board game like backgammon, 16th century

See Tudor dice used for playing games and gambling

Bone dice used for games and gambling, 16th century

See a Tudor tennis ball

Find out how Tudor tennis was different to the modern game

Leather tennis ball stuffed with dog's hair, early 16th century

See two toy dolls

Toy female doll made from metal, mid-late 16th century

Toy male doll made from metal, 1550-1560

See a bird feeder for feeding pet birds

Small trough used to hold water or food for caged pet birds, early 16th century

Find out about jousting and other entertainments that took place in royal palaces

Reconstruction of the Rose Theatre © Bill Dudley/The Rose Theatre Trust

Find out how the Rose Theatre was discovered and how a Tudor playhouse worked

Find out where the remains of the Rose Theatre were discovered

Find out about the layout of the Rose Theatre

Find out what the stage was like at the Rose Theatre and about the actors' costume

Find out what Tudor plays were like and who the actors were

Find out who visited Tudor playhouses and where wealthy people sat to watch plays

Find out what it was like to be in the audience at the Rose Theatre

Find out how money was collected at Tudor theatres

Ceramic money box

See remains of money boxes from the Rose Theatre

Tops from smashed ceramic money boxes found on the site of the Rose Theatre

Find out how the Rose Theatre had to close due to an outbreak of plague

Find out about Tudor special effects and a terrible accident that happened during a play at the Rose Theatre

Find out how the remains of the Rose Theatre have been preserved

Reconstruction of the Tudor theatres in Southwark. The Globe Theatre in the foreground. © Faith Vardy/MOLA

Find out how audiences at a Tudor playhouse knew a play was about to start

Find out about the Globe Theatre and what the outside of a Tudor playhouse was like

Find out how rich and poor Tudor Londoners served drinks

Ceramic jug used for serving drinks, 16th century

Find out why leather was used to make jugs

Find out how leather jugs were made

Leather jug for serving drinks, 16th - 17th century

Find out how whistles were used to catch birds for eating

Ceramic whistle in the shape of a bird, used to catch birds for eating, 16th century

Find out how a Tudor saucepan works

Ceramic pipkin (a type of saucepan), used for cooking food over a fire, early 17th century

Find out how dripping dishes were used to catch the fat from roasting meat

Ceramic dripping dish used for catching the fat from roasting meat, late 16th - 17th century

See a wooden bowl, which was used for eating from

Wooden bowl with painted decoration, 16th century

See a Tudor table knife with gold decoration

Iron table knife with gold decoration, late 16th century

Find out what you can learn about Tudor life from three spoons

Pewter spoon which has been marked by its owner to show who it belongs to, early 16th century

Pewter spoon with decorated handle, late 16th century

Pewter spoon which is worn on one side and has bite marks, showing its owner was right-handed

Introduction to the Great Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how the Great Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace was designed

Find out what happened in the flesh larder at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how meat was roasted in the Great Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how vast quantities of stew were made in the kitchens at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how peacocks were cooked and prepared for eating at Hampton Court Palace

See the staircase where food was brought up from the kitchens at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how food was kept safe at Hampton Court Palace

Find out where Henry VIIIs food was cooked at Hampton Court Palace

Find out where people ate at Hampton Court Palace, depending on their status at court

Find out how meals were collected from the Great Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace

Find out where food was stored at Hampton Court Palace and how fish was kept fresh

Find out how Tudor roofs were tiled

Roof tile with two holes so it could be attached to the roof with pegs, 16th century

Find out how brick was used to build fashionable Tudor buildings

Brick, used to build houses and other buildings, 16th century

Find out how a Tudor door key works

Iron door key, late 15th - 16th century

Find out how tiles were used to decorate floors in rich people's homes

Decorated floor tile, late 16th century

Find out how Tudor people used candles to light their homes

Ceramic candlestick used to hold a candle, mid-16th - 17th century

Find out how to light a fire using a fire steel

Iron strike-a-light or fire steel, used to start fires, 16th century

Find out how people worshiped saints and went on pilgrimages to holy shrines

Badge bought by a pilgrim at the shrine of King Henry VI in Windsor as a souvenir of their pilgrimage

Badge bought by a pilgrim at the shrine of Our Lady of Willesden as a souvenir of their pilgrimage

St Paul's map image printed from the Copperplate Map, 1559

Find out about the Dissolution of the Monasteries and why Sir Edward North made Charterhouse his home

Photo of the cloister at the Charterhouse, a monastery that was closed by King Henry VIII

Find out about the medieval cloister at Charterhouse and how it was changed by its Tudor owners

Find out about the gruesome history of the gate at Charterhouse

Photo of the gate into the Charterhouse, a monastery that was closed by King Henry VIII

Find out about the chapel of Charterhouse and how fragments of the medieval monastery still survive here

Find out what it was like to live as a monk at Charterhouse

Find out about the servants' area at the monastery of Charterhouse

Photo of Wash-house Court (the kitchen area) at the Charterhouse monastery

Find out about the medieval monastery of Charterhouse and what happened after it was closed

Find out why King Henry VIII created the Church of England

Find out about the monks who refused to recognise King Henry VIII as Head of the Church of England

Introduction to Hampton Court Palace

Find out more about how King Henry VIII used Hampton Court Palace

Master William Thynne explains the arrangements for the wedding of King Henry VIII and Katherine Parr

Introduction to the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace

Find out about Henry VIII's luxurious tapestries in the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace

Find out what the Great Watching Chamber was for at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how courtiers at Hampton Court Palace passed their time and tried to get noticed by the king

Find out what guest accommodation was like in Base Court at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how guests were expected to behave when they stayed in Base Court at Hampton Court Palace

Find out what life was like for guests at Hampton Court Palace and who stayed there

Find out how Hampton Court palace was decorated with the symbols of Henry VIII and his wives

Find out what the queens rooms were like at Hampton Court

Find out how Queen Elizabeth I heated her bathroom

Tile from a stove decorated with the initials 'ER' for Queen Elizabeth I

Find out how important the River Thames was at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how the gardens were decorated at Hampton Court Palace

Find out about Henry VIIIs amazing astronomical clock at Hampton Court

Master William Thynne explains about jobs at Hampton Court Palace

Find out how supplies were delivered to Hampton Court Palace

See inside the Clerks Office at Hampton Court Palace

Find out what life was like for pages at Hampton Court Palace

Master William Thynne explains how the Board of the Green Cloth runs Hampton Court Palace

Find out how Henry VIII's palace of Nonsuch was decorated

Henry VIII's palace of Nonsuch, 1541-1547

Carved slate decorations from Henry VIII's palace of Nonsuch, 1541-1547

Moulded plaster (stucco) decorations from Henry VIII's palace of Nonsuch, 1541-1547

Master William Thynne welcomes you to the wedding day of King Henry VIII and Katherine Parr

Mistress Anne Basset gossips about the wives of Henry VIII

Find out why Katherine Parr wants to marry King Henry VIII

Listen to Katherine Parr explain how rich Tudor women were educated

Meet Sir Thomas Seymour who will explain how you should behave at the royal wedding

Sir Thomas Seymour explains how you should behave when you meet the king

Sir Thomas Seymour tries to persuade Katherine Parr not to marry King Henry VIII

Mistress Anne Basset and Sir Thomas Seymour gossip about the king's marriage to Katherine Parr

View of Newgate Prison as it would have looked about 1600

John Rogers, vicar of St Sepulchre's church, being burned to death at Smithfield, London, in 1555

Henry VII (1457-1509)

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (top), Whitehall Mural

Prince Arthur (1486-1502)

Henry VIII (1491-1547) as a young boy

Christopher Columbus discovers The Americas for Spain

Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536)

Henry VIII (1491-1547)

Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530)

Princess Mary, later Queen (1516-1558)

The Field of the Cloth of Gold

Anne Boleyn (c.1501–1536)

Queen Jane Seymour (1508/9-1537)

Edward VI (1537-1553)

Anne of Cleeves (1515-1557) wrongly inscribed as Ann de Boleyn

Sir Thomas Cromwell (c.1485-1540)

Katherine Howard (c.1523-1542)

Katherine Parr (1512-1548)

History of the Reformation of the Church of England

Lady Jane Grey (c.1536-1554)

Queen Mary I (1516-1558)

Phillip II (1527-1598), King of Spain

Cranmer's martyrdom, from John Foxe's book (1563)

Royal Exchange

Sir Francis Drake receives knighthood from Queen Elizabeth

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-87)

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

James VI & I (1566-1625)