A cottage at Buckler's Hard

Buckler’s Hard maritime attraction in Hampshire has a programme of role play tours for Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 students, which focuses on the British admiral Lord Nelson and the navy.

Teachers organising a Ships & Seafarers, Houses & Homes tour will see their students take the part of 18th century visitors to the village where ships for Nelson’s navy were built.

Pupils will learn about Lord Nelson, Buckler’s master shipbuilder Henry Adams, the cat-o-nine-tails, and more about life in the 18th century village.

A further highlight will be seeing Nelson’s favourite navy ship, the HMS Agamemnon.

Organisers can choose for the emphasis of the visit to be on social history or ship building; and the tours are suitable for both History and Drama students.

More about Buckler’s Hard

Buckler’s Hard, located on the banks of the Beaulieu River, was once a thriving shipbuilding village, where warships for Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar were built.

The site was founded in the 1720s as a centre for trade and shipbuilding, and is now a visitor attraction encompassing a Maritime Museum and the Buckler’s Hard Story.

Visitors to the museum will learn about the village during the 18th century, and the life of the people that lived there at the time.

Meanwhile, the historic cottage interiors show what domestic life was like during the village’s shipbuilding heyday.

School booking information

Buckler’s Hard has an education programme that ties in to several parts of the national curriculum; the historic cottages and the Maritime Museum can be the focus for programmes on shipbuilding and 18th century domestic life.

A range of other workshops are available, ranging in topic-focus from English and Maths to Geography and Technology. For example, the Geography workshop looks into why Buckler’s Hard developed to the size it was and can include an exploration of the physical and human features of the banks of the Beaulieu River. 

All programmes are hosted by experienced teaching staff and can be tailored to different age groups’ educational needs and for particular subjects.

For further information e-mail education@beaulieu.co.uk or visit www.bucklershard.co.uk.

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