THE HIGH STREET & TUDOR HOUSE MUSEUM 9 FEBRUARY 2026 @ 10am

In 1575, Queen Elizabeth I visited Worcester. She paraded through the city, and was greeted by enthusiastic citizens and dignitaries – but also, informed about the hardships facing the textile industry.

Now, young people from Tudor Grange Academy Worcester are going to recreate this event. On 9 February at 10am, dressed in costumes from the Elizabethan period, they will parade through the High Street. They will pause outside St. Helen’s Church (where Elizabeth I herself paused on the day of her visit); and perform speeches, an Elizabethan dance, and scenes from Romeo and Juliet.

The students will then move on to the Tudor House Museum on Friar Street. They are going to take over the museum for the day. In the morning, they will run a series of activities for children from Tudor Grange Primary Academy Perdiswell. In the afternoon, they will open the museum to parents, friends and relatives.

The event is part of a project led by the Mantle of the Expert Network, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. David Allen, Project Director for the Network, says:

We have been working with a group of 15 students for four months on the project. They researched Worcester at the time of the Queen’s visit, and discovered that there was a lot of unemployment in the town because of a downturn in the textile trade.

Textiles were really the core business of the city. We learned that the building that is now the Tudor House Museum was occupied by people in the trade. So the students have invented two families: a prosperous family of glove-makers, and a poor family of weavers, who have become unemployed. Visitors to the museum will learn about their lives, and the event will really offer a snapshot of life in Worcester at the time.

Obviously, it is a perfect event for young people from Tudor Grange to take part in!  We can promise a great spectacle, as well as a celebration of an important moment in the city’s history.

The event is part of the Dorothy Heathcote Living History project, funded by NLHF. With thanks to National Lottery players.

For more details, images, or to arrange an interview or press call, contact David on david@mantlenetwork.com / 07946 006511. Visit the project website: www.livingmuseums.com