Elizabeth I greets important guests. On the floor is rush matting. Textiles hang on the walls.

Description: In the 16th century many floors were covered with rush matting, from palaces to ordinary houses. Rush matting was made by plaiting bulrushes into strips about 8cm wide. These strips were then joined together with cord to form mats as wide as the room.

On top of the rush matting you could scatter sweet smelling herbs. It was thought that pennyroyal mint would discourage fleas. Meadowsweet, thyme and lavender are all recorded in the Master of Works Accounts for the royal palaces.