Worksheet  2

Civil War in England. Cromwell comes to Ireland.

1 What is Alys's dress made from? (Chapter 3)



2 What is her red cloak made from? (Chapter 3)



3 What is Máire Rua wearing when she greets the new arrivals? (Chapter 1)

4. What does Honora wear for the Halloween party? (Chapter 4)
   

In the seventeenth century the ordinary people of Ireland wore clothes mostly made from wool which they sheared from their own sheep, spun, dyed and then wove into cloth. Red was the most popular colour for women. (It was dyed with a plant called 'madder'). They also wore linen woven from the rotted stalks of a plant called flax.
The rich people wore silks and velvets which were brought in on ships from France and Spain. Lace was very popular for both men and women and most of it was imported from Spain or Flanders.

Try weaving by making yourself a loom from a piece of stiff cardboard. Make eight notches at each end to hold the eight pieces of wool that make the warp. Then weave threads in the opposite direction to make the weft.

Imagine yourself at a Halloween party in a castle in 1651. What are you wearing? Write down an account of the party.


Imagine that you find a piece of lace from the Cromwellian times. It has magic powers and it transports you back to those days. Write down what happens.