This session introduces pupils to some of the amazing ancient
wax seals in our collection. The aim of the workshop is to give
pupils an understanding of how seals were made, how and why they
were used, and what the images used on them mean. For the first
activity, we look at royal seals from the time of Edward the
Confessor up to the present day. Pupils identify different
elements of the designs and compare how they have changed and
developed over the last thousand years. Pupils also have a close
look at some of the seals belonging to Tudor kings and queens to
see what particular impression each one tried to create about
themselves on their seal. For the second activity, we look at
personal seals that belonged to barons, knights, ladies,
craftsmen, religious houses and ordinary people in medieval and
Tudor times. Pupils work out why each person chose the design
they did for their seal, and discuss how this can help us
understand people in the past. Finally, pupils get to try
designing their own seal on paper