Who is The Lady of the Keep?

Lady Foxley is the wife of Sir John Foxley, Constable of the castles at Southampton and the Isle of Sheppey; as well as Warden of the King’s Manor and Park of Lyndhurst, and of the New Forest.

The Lady’s Visit

Learn how castles became homes. Help the Lady sort through her bundles to recreate a Mediaeval home. Be careful, you may find yourself becoming a vassal of her household or directed to create a new tiled floor design for the floors of the refurnished Southampton Castle. If you catch her in a reflective mood, she might tell you the tale of how she and her husband defied their families and ran away to get married at 14.

Workshops

If desired, Lady Foxley (or her historian alter-ego) can run workshops with the children in conjunction with the teachers. Or, teachers can opt to run these themselves whilst the character works with another group/class. Workshop themes can include: Tile designing, Food, Quill writing, Dance, Artefact Analysis, Clothes, Hygiene, Medicine, Shopping, Money, Tisane making, Costume and Toys.

Examples of ‘Experience Workshop’ options:

• Textile felting or wool making – create a small felt ball or pocket
• Looking over the Traders offerings – exploring the Trader’s goods and trying your hand at bartering for the goods.
• Games – try your hand at games that Mediaeval folk would recognise.
• Quill writing – create your own book mark. Decorate with your name with illuminated letters
• Tisane making – try your hand at creating Mediaeval style drinks. Discover if Nettles sting when you drink them!
• Food tasting – try 1-3 foods any self respecting ‘vassal could recognise (costs 30p extra per child).

More details about a character visit can be found here.

Ready to enquire about a visit? Please click here.
Need further information? Please click here.