History · Year 1 · Famous People and Events · Spring Term

The Great Fire of London

Understanding the causes, events, and consequences of the Great Fire of London in 1666.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Events beyond living memory
• KS1: History - Significant historical events

About This Topic

The Great Fire of London started on 2 September 1666 in a bakery on Pudding Lane, owned by Thomas Farriner. Dry timber stores caught sparks from the oven, and strong east winds drove flames through narrow streets lined with wooden houses and thatched roofs. Firefighters struggled with leather buckets and could not contain it; the blaze lasted four days, destroying 13,200 houses, 87 churches including St Paul's Cathedral, and leaving 70,000 people homeless.

This topic aligns with KS1 History standards on significant events beyond living memory. Children explore key questions: causes like flammable buildings and wind that made the fire spread quickly, feelings of fear and chaos for Londoners, and consequences such as rebuilding in brick and stone with wider streets under architects like Christopher Wren. Samuel Pepys's diary provides vivid eyewitness accounts.

Active learning benefits this topic because children act out the fire's spread with safe models, role-play escapes, or construct timelines from eyewitness perspectives. These methods turn distant history into personal stories, build empathy through collaboration, and help young learners sequence events concretely.

Key Questions

1. What do you think caused the Great Fire of London to start and spread so quickly?
2. What might it have felt like to be in London when the fire was spreading?
3. How did London change after the Great Fire?

Learning Objectives

• Identify the primary causes of the Great Fire of London, such as building materials and wind.
• Explain the sequence of events during the Great Fire of London using a timeline.
• Describe at least two significant consequences of the Great Fire of London on the city's development.
• Compare London before and after the Great Fire based on descriptions and images.

Before You Start

Homes and Houses

Why: Understanding different types of homes and their materials is foundational to grasping why the fire spread so quickly.

People Who Help Us

Why: Recognizing the role of people like firefighters, even historical ones, helps students understand community responses to emergencies.

Key Vocabulary

Pudding Lane	The street where the Great Fire of London began in a baker's shop in 1666.
Thatch	A roofing material made of straw or reeds, which easily caught fire.
Firebreak	A gap created by demolishing buildings to stop a fire from spreading.
Rebuilding	The process of constructing new buildings after the fire destroyed many old ones.
Samuel Pepys	A famous diarist who wrote a detailed account of the Great Fire of London as he witnessed it.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The Great Fire was started on purpose by enemies.

What to Teach Instead

Records show it began accidentally in a bakery oven, spread by wind and wood. Role-playing the sequence with models lets children test ideas and see evidence from diaries, correcting blame through discussion.

Common Misconception

The whole city burned down and was never rebuilt.

What to Teach Instead

About 75 percent burned but people rebuilt stronger with brick. Comparing model buildings before and after helps children visualize changes and appreciate resilience via hands-on evidence.

Common Misconception

Firefighters easily stopped the fire with water.

What to Teach Instead

Buckets and no pumps failed against wind; gunpowder later halted it. Simulations with water play reveal limitations, as groups experiment and discuss real strategies.

Active Learning Ideas

Drama Circle: Fire Spread Role-Play

Gather children in a circle to role-play as Londoners using scarves for flames and simple props like buckets. Narrate wind and decisions to flee or fight fire; pause for children to share feelings. Debrief on causes of spread.

30 min·Whole Class

Model Building: Before and After London

Provide blocks, straws, and paper to build crowded wooden streets, then rebuild with bricks after 'fire'. Compare models side-by-side and label changes like wider streets. Photograph for display.

45 min·Pairs

Timeline Station: Key Events

Set up stations with pictures of bakery fire, wind spread, St Paul's fall, and rebuilding. Children sequence cards on group timelines and add speech bubbles for feelings. Share one fact each.

25 min·Small Groups

Diary Writing: Eyewitness Account

Read Samuel Pepys excerpts, then children draw and dictate diary pages as a Londoner during the fire. Include what they saw, felt, and heard. Compile into class book.

35 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Firefighters today use modern equipment like water hoses and fire engines to control blazes, a stark contrast to the leather buckets used in 1666.
• Urban planners and architects, like Sir Christopher Wren who helped rebuild London, consider building materials and street layouts to ensure safety and functionality in cities.
• Historians use primary sources, such as Samuel Pepys's diary, to understand past events and share them with the public through museums and books.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Give students a card with a picture of a wooden house and a strong wind. Ask them to write one sentence explaining how these might have helped the Great Fire start or spread. Collect these as students leave.

Discussion Prompt

Show students an image of St. Paul's Cathedral before and after the fire. Ask: 'What happened to the old cathedral? What does this tell us about the fire's power? Who helped design the new one?' Facilitate a brief class discussion.

Quick Check

Ask students to point to the direction of the wind on a simple map of London during the fire. Then, ask them to explain why the wind was important for the fire's spread, using the term 'thatch' or 'wooden houses' in their answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to teach causes of the Great Fire of London to Year 1?

Use simple visuals of wooden houses, thatch, and wind arrows on maps. Read Pepys diary snippets and discuss hot ovens. Hands-on flame-spread demos with paper chains show chain reactions clearly, building causal links step-by-step.

What active learning activities work for the Great Fire of London?

Role-play escapes with props fosters empathy for chaos. Build block models of old crowded streets versus new brick ones to grasp changes. Timeline stations with images sequence events collaboratively. These engage senses, make 1666 tangible, and link causes to consequences through movement and talk, deepening retention.

How did London change after the Great Fire?

Rebuilt with brick and stone for fire safety, wider streets reduced crowding, and grand designs by Wren like new St Paul's emerged. No more thatch roofs. Maps and model activities highlight these shifts, showing progress from disaster.

What resources for teaching Great Fire of London in KS1?

Free Museum of London resources include timelines, images, Pepys diary clips. BBC Bitesize videos simplify events. Craft kits for bakery models or fire buckets from recyclables. Books like 'Vlad and the Great Fire' add story engagement for Year 1.