22/07/2026
A wonderful start to this year's Festival Schools Project! 🎶📜
We were delighted to welcome pupils from our partner schools, Oak View Primary, Birchwood Avenue Primary and The Ryde School for a day of music, history and discovery at Hatfield Park .
The children enjoyed:
• A visit to St Etheldreda's Church, where they were introduced to the project, experienced Dowland performed on period instruments, and discovered the world of consort music.
• A guided tour of the House, culminating in a special organ performance by Dermot.
• An exclusive visit to the Old Palace, where they explored Tudor history, met our Archivists, and viewed remarkable treasures from the archives, including the only surviving letter written by John Dowland, correspondence relating to Robert Cecil's musicians, an early printed work by Thomas Morley, a letter signed by Henry VIII, and a coded letter written and signed by Elizabeth I.
One teacher from Oak View Primary shared:
"Thank you so much for organising today. It was a really great experience for the children, something that they would never have had the opportunity to do. There was lots of interest and some lovely questions being asked. Please pass on my thanks to the Hatfield House team. We look forward to continuing with the project in Year 6."
A huge thank you to our wonderful House team for helping to plan and deliver such an inspiring day ✨
