Journey through time and celebrate Christmas with the National Trust

Visitors looking to embark on this Christmas tour through time, are invited to begin their journey in the Tudor period at Little Moreton Hall in Congleton.

From 29 November to 17 December, the manor house will be welcoming visitors with a warm spiced drink and ginger biscuit to sample while they explore the dazzling Yuletide decorations and displays throughout the property. At the weekends, the Great Hall will come to life with live music, choir singing, storytelling and jesters: a fitting way to honour the grandeur of a Tudor Christmas.

As can be seen around the house this winter, the Tudors chose holly, ivy and mistletoe to decorate their homes rather than a tree. 

However, some of their more indulgent choices can still be recognised today. While fasting before Christmas Day is not a tradition now observed, feasting on 25 December is and the Tudors would indulge for 12 days in a wealth of delicacies including salmon, oysters, roast pigeons, smoked eel and chutneys with the centrepiece being a Marchpane cake: a sugar paste creation made with marzipan.

Using expensive ingredients such as sugar and spice demonstrated wealth so sweet treats such as gingerbread biscuits, hazelnut shortbread, almond biscuits, fudge raisins and, familiarly, mince pies were plentiful.