Sleeping Well at Ordsall Hall’ is a two-year engagement project, which is part of ‘Sleeping Well in the Early Modern World’ a four-year project funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Led by Dr Anna Fielding, ‘Sleeping Well at Ordsall Hall’ takes research into Tudor practices on health and sleep and applies it towards creating activities that will intrigue both adults and children.

New for 2024, we are now offering two reoccurring series for adult audiences: Sunday Sessions and Workshops. The Sunday Sessions are simple drop-in activities perfect for those curious about the project while the Workshops dive deeper into Tudor history with more complex recipes.

In addition to these sessions, there will of course also be range of activities for children and families at throughout the year – so keep an eye out!

Below is the latest list of workshops and events, all of which provide opportunities to learn Tudor methods, gain new skills and hopefully improve sleep.

2024 Events

Sleeping Well Workshop: Re-usable Tea Bags
Sunday 17th March | 12:00 – 3:00pm | Free, booking required

Join us for the return of our most popular session, where you will be able to make reusable drawstring tea bags with recycled fabric!

Led by Dr Anna Fielding, our Sleeping Well project lead at Ordsall Hall, this craft session will also involve trying Tudor tea infusions made with various herbs and spices which can aid in sleep and digestion.

Book free tickets →


Sleeping Well Workshop: Sleepy Food Recreations
Sunday 21st April | 12:00 – 3:00pm | Free, booking required

Join Sleeping Well project leads Professor Sasha Handley and Dr. Anna Fielding for this long form session dedicated to recreating 16th and 17th century sleepy food using our outdoor oven.

Participants can bake bread, milky puddings and vegetable pies before gathering as a group to try the dishes. There will also be various salads and cheeses alongside. The meal will be in celebration of Earth Day 2024, so please join us for this fun outdoor session!

Book free tickets →


Sleeping Well Workshop: Bed Bugs
Sunday 13th May | 12:00 – 3:00pm | Free, booking required

Join Dr. Leah Astbury from the Sleeping Well in the Early Modern World team and our project lead, Dr. Anna Fielding, to explore the problem of bedbugs for 16th and 17th century sleepers.

We will be looking at various solutions which were once popular – some we may want to try with the re-emergence of bedbugs recently and some we may want to remain firmly in the past!

Book free tickets →


Sleeping Well Workshop: Tea Gardens
Sunday 26 May | 12:00 – 3:00pm | Free, booking required

Join Dr. Anna Fielding, our Sleeping Well project lead at Ordsall Hall, for this long form session dedicated to tea and tea gardens!

Bring your own teacups and plant your own tiny windowsill tea garden with three different herbs known to aid good sleep.

Book free tickets →