Free writing workshops for young people to celebrate Tudor charter

500 years ago this year, King Henry VIII awarded a charter that gave King’s Lynn the right to appoint a Mayor, Council and Aldermen, as well as other administrative posts: this transformed how the town was run.

To mark the anniversary, the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk is planning a range of activities, including Tudor writing workshops for young people over May half term.

Cllr Simon Ring, the council’s cabinet member for Tourism, Events and Marketing, said: “Our history is part of who we are. These workshops will offer young people the chance to connect with their heritage while having fun using traditional materials and learning a new skill as they reproduce Tudor writing.

“I’m also excited to reveal that their work will be incorporated into a special piece of art that will be presented to the council and placed into the borough archives for future generations to enjoy.

“Our corporate strategy makes a commitment to providing access to leisure, cultural and outreach experiences and this kind of activity helps us fulfil that commitment.”

In the workshops young people will have the opportunity to see the original Henry VIII charter and learn about its importance. They will have the chance to use traditional quills and inks and learn to produce an illuminated letter of the type used in the charter, as well as writing up their own ideas for a charter in 2024.

Each session will last approximately an hour and a half and will be held at Stories of Lynn on:

• Wednesday 29 May 10.30am and 1.30pm
• Thursday 30 May 10.30am and 1.30pm
• Saturday 1 June 10.30am and 1.30pm

There are 12 free places in each workshop and they must be booked in advance.

The free sessions include entry to Stories of Lynn afterwards, as well as entry for one adult per child/young person. (Additional adult places are available and payment will be taken for these at the time of booking.) Places must be booked in advance through the Stories of Lynn website at www.storiesoflynn.co.uk/whats-on.

As part of the workshops, a piece of art will be produced incorporating the work of the young people. It will be presented to the borough at a special meeting of the full council on 27 June, an event that also forms part of the charter celebrations, and then placed in the borough archives. At the special meeting five new aldermen will be appointed – an important link with the charter as it was the granting of the charter that gave the town the right to appoint aldermen in the first place.