Tudor life

The Tudor era lasted from 1485 – when Henry VII defeated the Yorkist king Richard III at the battle of Bosworth – until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. So what was life like during Tudor times?

First built in 1576, the Globe theatre burnt to the ground in 1613. During a performance of the play now known as 'Henry VIII', a set of stage cannons were fired and a piece of flaming material from one of the cannons landed on the theatre’s thatched roof, causing the fire. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

5 facts about Shakespeare’s Globe theatre

A crowned Tudor rose. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Stringer via Getty Images)

Why the Tudors grab us.

Henry VIII “regarded his wars as the worthy successors of the great martial victories of England’s past”, says Steven Gunn. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

The LibraryTotal war in Tudor England.

Black faces of Tudor England.

Black Tudors.

A map of London dating from c1572. (Getty Images)

Life in Tudor London

A view of Hampton Court Palace, London. (Getty Images)

Simon Thurley on the architectural history of the Tudors.

Through foreign eyes: the forgotten ambassadors to the Tudor court.

The reluctant ambassador: the life and times of Tudor diplomat Sir Thomas Chaloner.

Shakespeare’s London: playing a dangerous game.

Swan Theatre, Bankside, London, interior from drawing by Johannes de Witt. The Shakespearian theatre, erected c1593 on Bankside – could hold 3,000 spectators – typical of the time. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

At the playhouse: watching Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan England.

Mary, Queen of Scots is executed © Getty

Horrible Histories author reveals 10 ways to die in Elizabethan England.

Chess, gambling and cards: Tudor games and indoor pastimes.

Terror in Elizabethan England.

Life as a Tudor gent: the 16th-century diary of Humphrey Newton.

The other Elizabethan England.

How the Tudors invented breakfast.