History -Who worked in a medieval castle?

 This week we looked at the types of people who would work in a castle. 

Building on our previous learning, we started to think about how many people it might take to look after a castle and which jobs would need to be done. The children spoke about how the nobility would not have done many things for themselves such as cook and clean so they would have had cooks and maids, but they weren't sure who else would be needed. 

We watched a short video discussing the roles of cooks, maids, servants, gardeners, marshalls, stable hands, watchmen, candlemakers, carpenters and blacksmiths. The children were surprised by how many people it took to look after a building like Carisbrooke Castle! We then asked ourselves which of these jobs we would have preferred to have and which skills would be required. We then had a go at filling out a medieval application form! The children were able to understand that each role required different skills and had different expectations eg. the watchmen would have to be fit and alert, but the cook would have to be efficient and trustworthy.