THE BIGGEST QUIZ IN HISTORY* – ROUND FOUR
The final round of the Biggest Quiz in History* is here and this time we've given it a festive theme. We've also given you a bit of help and thrown in some multiple choice questions... 'tis the season of goodwill after all!
*May not be the biggest quiz in history
1. The first known Christmas tree in England was put up by the German spouse of which monarch?
2. Which Roman midwinter festival began on 17 December?
3. What dried object would be baked into a traditional Tudor Twelth Night Cake?
4. Santa Claus is based on which early Christian saint?
5. Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, inspired a Victorian English Christmas carol. In which central European city was he born?
6. Sir Charles Monck and his family did what on Christmas Day in 1817?
A: Moved into their new home, the newly completed Belsay Hall
B: Held a grand party to celebrate the arrival of relatives who had spent time abroad
C: Not very much as they were snowed in by bad weather
7. What did Jemima, Marchioness Grey say she had sent to Wrest Park in a letter to her daughter Amabel in December 1779?
A: Presents for her nephews and nieces
B: A Christmas tree to put up in the Staircase Hall
C: A couple of wild turkeys for the Christmas dinner
8. Which of these ingredients was not included in Avis Crocombe’s recipe for Christmas cake?
A: 2 lb of candied peel
B: Half a bottle of brandy
C: 50 eggs
9. Wealthy socialites Stephen and Virginia Courtauld spent Christmas Day 1936 doing what?
A: Sitting down to a lavish turkey dinner with friends and relations at Eltham Palace
B: Attending a gala performance at their private ice rink, the Ice Club in Westminster
C: Visiting the pyramids at Giza in Egypt
10. Who held lavish Christmas entertainments at Eltham Palace in 1515 including mock battles, ladies emerging from a wooden castle and a banquet with more than 200 dishes?
A: Cardinal Wolsey
B: Henry VIII
C: Edward IV
11. When Queen Victoria spent Christmas at Osborne in the 1860s where were the family presents placed?
A: Under the Christmas tree in the Dining Room
B: On decorated tables in the Present Room
C: In pillow cases at the bottom of the children’s beds
12. Which of these things did Queen Victoria not do on Christmas Day when staying at Osborne in 1869?
A: Take down her Christmas tree
B: Go to Holy Communion at Whippingham Church
C: Give presents to her personal servants
13. How much wine was drunk at Goodrich Castle on Christmas day in 1296?
A: Half a tun, or around 120 gallons
B: Two and a half sesters, equivalent to 84-100 bottles
C: Three hogsheads, or around 180 gallons
14. Who jotted down a Christmas carol on the end pages of a book in around 1500?
A: A monk at Battle Abbey
B: The young Henry VIII whilst living at Eltham Palace
C: The Duke of Northumberland’s chaplain at Warkworth Castle
15. Which of the following were not part of the Christmas celebrations for families working at the Silsoe Research Institute at Wrest Park in the 1970s and 80s?
A: Father Christmas descending a rope into the Staircase Hall to deliver presents to the children
B: An elaborately decorated grotto in one of the basement cellars
C: Ice skating on the frozen over Long Water
16. Which English Heritage site has possibly the oldest surviving Christmas tree, planted in 1856 and brought into the house annually for the festive season?
A: Brodsworth Hall
B: Wrest Park
C: Kenwood House
17. How did convalescents recuperating at Wrest Park Hospital celebrate Christmas in 1915?
A: With a concert performed in the Staircase Hall
B: With a trip to the cinema in Luton
C: With a staff against patients football match in the grounds
