Elizabeth Fry

Elizabeth Fry Project by Bailey, Ellie and Rachael from Earlham High School

A small number of Year 8 students with a talent in Drama and History, were selected to take part in a lottery-funded project. They visited various locations in and around Norwich and researched the life of Elizabeth Fry before making a film about her life. Here, in their own words, they describe what they did and what they learnt:

Bailey

We went to the Archive centre and looked at orriginal documents, Quaker Meeting House - We had a look around the building and learnt about the Quakers! When we went back a second time we were getting ready to start filming and getting all dressed up in our costumes. We went to the forum and library upstairs and researched facts about Elizabeth Fry. We looked at the picture of a £5 note and saw there was a picture of Elizabeth Fry on it. At Earlham park we went to film a part of Elizabeth's life (this is where she grew up) I have learnt all about Elizabeth Fry. I hardly knew anything before we started this project. Now we have finished I have learnt many things; that she was a very careing person and wanted to improve conditions for women in prisons. Going to all these places was good because we got to research all facts and it's something we wouldn't do everyday.

 Ellie

I didn't even know who Elizabeth Fry was until I did this project, I now know a little about her. I know know that she helped at Newgate Prison, she helped with the women in the prison and she worried about the children who had to stay with their mums whilst they were in prison, a lot of the children had no clothes or were poorly educated. I learnt that she set up a school for the women and children. I especially liked going to all the different places, because it meant that we learnt about the history of Norwich. I enjoyed filming because it was a lugh, dressing up in different clothes to normal!

Rachael

I found out that Elizabeth Fry was a Gurney girl and like to wear lots of bright and colourful clothes especially her red cloak and purple boots. When I first started learning about Elizabeth Fry I knew nothing but I know know that she is the lady on the five pound note and many other things.

She started off as a cheeky Gurney girl and the grew up to help many people. She became a Quaker and went to Newgate Prison in London to help the women by making clothes for their children, bringing food, and most of all she taught many people to read and write. Elizabeth first became a Quaker when she heard William Savery talk about all the children dying in the prison.

I enjoyed the whole thing really but there were some parts that were really good and exciting. When we went to the Quaker Meeting House for the last time we had to dress up in 19th century clothes. When we were there will filmed the prison scene where a group of us had to dress up really scruffy. We had ripped clothes with our hair all messed up. We also put black patches on our faces.