AQA GCSE History: Historic Environment (16 marks)

The specified site for this question is an invented historic site, created for this exercise but based on the real type of motte-and-bailey-then-stone castle the Normans built across England after 1066.

Site description (written for this exercise): "Wealdham Castle stands on a steep mound (motte) overlooking a river crossing and the road to a nearby town. It began soon after the Conquest as a motte-and-bailey castle of earth and timber, raised quickly by the local Norman lord using forced English labour. Within a generation the wooden tower was replaced by a great square stone keep, and a stone curtain wall enclosed the bailey below, in which stood a hall, a chapel, stables and storehouses. The castle controlled the river crossing, dominated the surrounding countryside and the town's market, and served as the centre from which the Norman lord governed and taxed the lands granted to him by the king."

How far does a study of Wealdham Castle support the view that castles were built mainly to control the conquered English population? Explain your answer. You should refer to Wealdham Castle and your contextual knowledge. (16 marks)

The specified site for this question is an invented historic site, created for this exercise but based on the real type of great Norman cathedral built in England after the Conquest.

Site description (written for this exercise): "Stanbury Cathedral was begun in the 1080s by the first Norman bishop, who replaced the small Anglo-Saxon minster he found there. Built in the Romanesque style, it is vast in scale, with massive round pillars, thick walls, rounded arches and a high tower that dominates the town and can be seen for miles across the surrounding countryside. The work was directed by Norman masons and paid for from the wealth of the bishop's estates. Alongside the cathedral the bishop established a community of monks and rebuilt the cathedral school. Inscriptions and the bishop's tomb record his loyalty to the king and to the reforming ideas of the Church in Rome."

How far does a study of Stanbury Cathedral support the view that the Normans used the Church to strengthen their control of England? Explain your answer. You should refer to Stanbury Cathedral and your contextual knowledge. (16 marks)

The specified site for this question is an invented historic site, created for this exercise but based on the real type of grand Elizabethan country house (a "prodigy house") built by wealthy courtiers in the reign of Elizabeth I.

Site description (written for this exercise): "Hartwell Hall was built in the 1590s by a leading courtier who had grown rich in royal service. Unlike a medieval castle, it has no battlements or moat; instead it is a grand, symmetrical house with huge mullioned windows filling its walls with glass, a feature so expensive that it advertised the owner's wealth. Inside are a great hall, a long gallery hung with portraits, and richly decorated state rooms, including a magnificent chamber prepared in the hope that the Queen herself might visit on one of her summer progresses. The owner's initials and coat of arms are displayed prominently above the entrance, and the house stands in formal gardens within a large landscaped park."

How far does a study of Hartwell Hall support the view that Elizabethan country houses were built mainly to display the wealth and status of their owners? Explain your answer. You should refer to Hartwell Hall and your contextual knowledge. (16 marks)

The specified site for this question is an invented historic site, created for this exercise but based on the real type of purpose-built open-air playhouse found in and around London in the reign of Elizabeth I.

Site description (written for this exercise): "The Swan Theatre was a large, round, open-air playhouse built in the 1590s on the south bank of the Thames, just outside the City of London. It had three tiers of roofed galleries around an open yard, with a raised stage projecting into the middle. Wealthier spectators paid more to sit in the galleries, while the poorest, the 'groundlings', stood in the yard for a penny. It could hold around two thousand people of all social classes, drawn together by the same plays. It was built outside the City's boundaries, beyond the control of the City authorities, who disapproved of the theatres as places of disorder, crime and the spread of disease. Nearby stood inns, gaming houses and bear-baiting rings."

How far does a study of the Swan Theatre support the view that going to the theatre was a popular form of entertainment for all classes in Elizabethan England? Explain your answer. You should refer to the Swan Theatre and your contextual knowledge. (16 marks)