The Queen's Pawns

Children were often badly treated in the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth – that's no surprise. Those who were lucky enough to go to school had their wildness beaten out of them by their school masters. That was the way to force learning into their heads. Most boys laboured on the farm from seven years old and the girls would do household crafts or work as the most junior of maid-servants in the richer households. In London, they might earn a few pennies by working as errand boys or selli...