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Morning: Keeping the Books
As part of the landed gentry, Master Dauntesey of Agecroft Hall had heavy responsibility.
Morning: Kids Activity
Are you good with numbers? Here is a counting activity to help you understand the job of the house steward a bit better.
Morning: Make Elizabethan Pottage
The Dauntesey family had the monetary means to afford a diet that regularly included meat dishes and sugar confections. In contrast, the meals of ordinary Elizabethans were primarily centered around bread and pottage.
Midday: To Market, To Market
As a large manor, many goods were produced at Agecroft. The main product was wool from their sheep, but the workers at the manor also produced milk products and other crops.
Midday: A Servants Workday
As you can imagine, most of the tasks that the servants did on the manor were physically demanding. Although there were tool to help with the chores, many of the machines that we would see on a farm today had not been invented.
Handmade Christmas Cards: Foil Tree, Bauble & Star
Sending Christmas cards to loved ones is a tradition that continued in the 1920's. Mailing cards and packages sent loving holiday wishes both domestically and abroad.
A Roaring 20's Christmas Puzzle
Christmas during the 1920's looked a lot like Christmas today. The late 19th century brought electricity, telephones, radio and refrigeration into Amerian homes.
Christmas in the 1920s- Agecroft Comes to Virginia
When Agecroft Hall was moved to Richmond in the 1920s, it was coming to America at a time of great change. The Christmas season was no different!
The Twelve Days of Christmas: Food and Entertaining
The Langley and Dauntesey families of Agecroft Hall would have celebrated a festive holiday season.
Christmas in the Age of Victoria
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Christmas was not considered a major holiday. Many businesses would remain open, and any celebrations that happened were very subdued.
A Christmas Masque at Agecroft Hall, 1927
Agecroft Hall was rebuilt in Richmond in the late 1920s. In December of 1927, T.C. Williams, Jr. and his wife Bessie moved into the house and celebrated with two nights of glittering housewarming holiday parties.
Tudor and Stuart Coins
When was the last time you paid for something with a halfpenny? That’s right...half of a penny! Never?
Martaban Jars: Pottery in the Great Hall
Many of the items in the collection at Agecroft Hall are from England. But England was becoming increasingly connected with the wider world during the Early Modern Period, and several objects in the collection reflect that.
Where is the Money Kept?
Wealth in Tudor England took up space. Much of a wealthy family's money would be valued in gold and silver “plate” (plates and serving pieces), cutlery and candlesticks.
A Puzzling Situation: Agecroft's Fuddling Cup
Not all of the artifacts we have at Agecroft can be on display all of the time. When objects are on view in the house, they are part of a larger interpretive story that we are trying to tell.
Thomas Tusser
Similar to today’s Farmer’s Almanac, books of husbandry were used by farmers to guide their tasks throughout the calendar year. Instructions for animal and crop care were listed by month and season.
Black Shuck
Telling ghost stories is a popular pastime during the Halloween season. Stories range from age-old folklore, urban legends and true events.
History of Scarecrows
The familiar cornfield scarecrow has a long and storied history both in Europe and in the New World. 3,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians hung tunics on reeds to scare quail away from crops along the Nile.
Pumpkin Finger Puppets
Try making these adorable Jack-o-lantern paper pumpkin finger puppets!
Queen Elizabeth I's Education
Elizabeth’s education differed from most of the other girls who were being educated at the time. She was taught by male tutors.