This History video introduces teachers to the use of Tudor inventories as a primary source for investigating people’s lives in the past. In Tudor times, an inventory was a list of a person’s possessions, sometimes including debts, created after their death to accompany their will. Inventories give historians valuable insight into the jobs, houses, and clothing of people from the period, and can reveal whether someone was rich, comfortably well off, or poor. In this lesson, pupils examine inventories from the Worcestershire archives, which have been transcribed and supported by a glossary for accessibility.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s History scheme – Tudor. It supports teachers in guiding pupils through analysis of inventories, including those of Richard Lilly from Bromsgrove, who died in 1558, and Catalina of Almondsbury, a black woman living near Bristol. By comparing possessions, pupils infer wealth and occupation, learning that Richard was comfortably well off, possibly trading containers and brewing beer, while Catalina’s possessions, such as decorative tablecloths, pewter candlesticks, and a cow, show she made a living producing butter. The lesson concludes with pupils creating a fictional inventory for John Blank, a black trumpeter at Henry VIII’s court, using historical evidence and prior knowledge of Tudor possessions to make realistic interpretations.

This History video introduces teachers to the use of Tudor portraits as primary sources for investigating the past. It sets the scene with the end of the Wars of the Roses, when Henry VII became king and reunited the rival York and Lancaster factions. Establishing peace was his biggest challenge, and the new Tudor dynasty sought to demonstrate its authority at home and abroad. Portraits became a tool of propaganda, used by Henry VIII and later Elizabeth I to reinforce the strength of the monarchy and project an image of total authority.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s History scheme – Tudor. It supports teachers in helping pupils evaluate Henry VIII’s rule through both portraits and written descriptions. The video explains how to analyse portraits using guiding questions, with the famous Hans Holbein painting showing Henry’s wealth, power, and warrior image, contrasted with an anonymous engraving of an older Henry that portrays a less authoritative figure. Pupils will compare these sources, identify how different artistic choices shape our view of Henry VIII, and decide whether he was a fair ruler or a tyrant, justifying their interpretations with evidence.