Queen’s College
Stop by Queen’s College and pick up a Children’s Activity booklet – full of FREE things to do in Bristol for school-age children!
If your child is preschool age, click the photo to the right to download the preschool activity sheet and bring it with you!
Our complete workshop schedule will be posted inside Queen’s College. Stop by to find your hands-on history adventure!
The City of Bristol proudly presents our own Queen’s College.
Guests of all ages can experience the creation of lost arts such as maille, blackwork stitching, brass rubbing, basket and textile weaving, candle making, calligraphy and more.
Classes and demonstrations will take place throughout the day.
Monumental Brasses are important historical records of clothing and armament styles, genealogy and heraldry, religious symbolism and written expressions of the day. Queen’s College is honored to bring back the Monumental Brass that Bill and Ruth Farnham displayed here at Bristol for many years. These brasses are available for rubbings, which are a still a tradition all over England. Come to Queen’s College and discover the history and art behind it!
Participate a little; join us for a few minutes and contribute to a community project such as weaving or calligraphy.
…Or a lot! For a nominal fee, our experienced instructors will teach the history and skills of a craft you can take home – your own handmade souvenir!
Queen’s College Continuous Activities:
Heraldry – Discover your “personal crest” Create a banner that shows the real you.
Calligraphy – Create a written work of art. Fine-tune your skills, then add to our “community piece” – a piece to be presented to the Queen!
Brass Rubbing – For varied fees, create a piece of art in the age-old style of brass rubbing. Take-home art you create, suitable for framing. ($5-15)
“Here’s the Rub” at Queen’s College
With approximately 50 rubbings from throughout Europe, the brass collection housed at the Queen’s College at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, is undoubtedly the largest collection of brass available for rubbings at any Renaissance Faire in the world. We are thrilled to present many famous members of Queen’s Elizabeth’s court available as brass rubbings – simply inquire at Queen’s College as to who is available. Brass memorials were introduced in Europe in the 13th century and soon became a popular way to honor the dead. Less expensive than alabaster figures or stone slabs, brass was durable and easily engraved. Being flat, a brass plate could also be placed anywhere in the church-on the floor, wall, or on top of a tomb. Brass rubbings are created by rubbing the brass plates with a wax-like crayon onto high quality paper.
The Bristol Renaissance Faire’s collection is the work of Willis Farnham and his wife, Ruth Farnham, retired school teachers in Ill. The Farnhams’ love of history, arts and crafts led them on the quest of teaching the history and art of the brass rubbings. Bill and Ruth Farnham were the Marketplace Directors from the 1980’s through the turn of the decade. The Farnhams developed their collection over 20 years during their retirement from the school system. We are thrilled to have the collection on display, and make this special collection available to you for rubbing. Stop by Queen’s College to experience a true medieval rub.
BRISTOL RENAISSANCE FAIRE REVIEWS
We look forward to going every chance we get. We’ve been to other faires across the country. So far this is by far the best! We rate all other faires based on Bristol. Fun for all ages. You can easily get lost in history for the whole day and wonder how the day passed so fast! – Allie B.
