History · Year 2 · The Great Fire of London · Autumn Term

London in 1666: A City of Wood

Investigating the urban landscape of London before the fire, focusing on building materials and density.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Events beyond living memory
• KS1: History - Chronological understanding

About This Topic

London in 1666 featured tightly packed houses with timber frames, wattle and daub infill, and thatched roofs. Narrow streets, overhanging upper storeys, and wooden market stalls created high fire risk. Students examine historical maps, drawings by Wenceslaus Hollar, and eyewitness accounts to visualise this overcrowded layout, which explains the rapid spread of the Great Fire from Pudding Lane bakery.

This topic aligns with KS1 History standards on significant events beyond living memory and chronological understanding. It develops skills in sequencing events, comparing past and present urban environments, and analysing cause and effect. Links to geography emerge through settlement patterns, while design and technology connects via material properties.

Active learning suits this topic perfectly. When students build scale models of streets or sort material samples, they physically experience the flammability and density factors. Role-playing daily routines in crowded alleys fosters empathy for 1666 residents and reveals fire hazards through trial and error, making historical causation concrete and memorable.

Key Questions

1. What was the Great Fire of London and when did it happen?
2. How did the fire start and why did it spread so quickly?
3. What do you think it would have been like to live in London during the fire?

Learning Objectives

• Identify the primary building materials used in London in 1666, such as timber, wattle and daub, and thatch.
• Explain how the density of buildings and narrow streets contributed to the rapid spread of fire.
• Compare the construction methods and urban layout of London in 1666 with a modern town or city.
• Describe the potential fire hazards present in a densely packed, wooden city.

Before You Start

Materials Around Us

Why: Students need a basic understanding of different common materials to identify and classify those used in 1666 London.

Homes and Homes Long Ago

Why: Familiarity with different types of housing and historical dwellings provides context for understanding London's urban landscape.

Key Vocabulary

Timber-framed	Buildings constructed with a wooden structural frame, often filled in with other materials like wattle and daub.
Wattle and daub	A building material where woven wooden strips (wattle) are plastered with a mixture of mud, clay, animal dung, and straw (daub).
Thatched roof	A roof made of bundles of dried straw, reeds, or other similar materials, which can be highly flammable.
Overhanging storeys	Upper floors of buildings that extend outwards beyond the ground floor, reducing light and air circulation in the street below and potentially helping fire spread.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

All London houses were made of stone like castles.

What to Teach Instead

Most buildings used cheap timber and thatch due to rapid urban growth. Sorting activities with material samples let students handle differences and test flammability with safe simulations, correcting ideas through direct comparison.

Common Misconception

1666 London streets were wide and planned like today.

What to Teach Instead

Narrow, winding alleys packed with overhanging storeys created wind tunnels for fire. Model-building tasks reveal density visually, as students struggle to fit structures closely, prompting discussions on real hazards.

Common Misconception

The city was sparsely populated with open spaces.

What to Teach Instead

Over 80,000 people lived in one square mile around the City. Mapping exercises show overcrowding, helping students redraw mental images through collaborative sketching and peer feedback.

Active Learning Ideas

Model Building: Crowded London Street

Provide craft sticks, straws, cardboard, and glue for groups to construct a 30cm street model with overhanging buildings and thatched roofs. Add labels for materials. Groups present how density increases fire risk. Discuss observations as a class.

45 min·Small Groups

Sorting: 1666 Building Materials

Gather real and image samples of wood, thatch, stone, and brick. Students sort into 'common in 1666 London' and 'rare' piles, justifying choices. Follow with a class vote on safest materials.

25 min·Pairs

Concept Mapping: Fire Spread Simulation

Pairs draw a simple map of 1666 London streets on paper. Use red crayons to simulate fire spread from a starting point, noting narrow alleys and wooden buildings. Compare paths and share predictions.

30 min·Pairs

Role Play: Market Day Chaos

Assign roles like baker, shopkeeper, or resident in a small group skit of a busy 1666 market. Incorporate props for wooden stalls. Debrief on how layout aided fire spread.

40 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Urban planners and fire safety officers today analyze city layouts and building materials to prevent and manage fires, considering factors like street width and the flammability of construction components.
• Architects and historical building conservators study old construction techniques, like timber framing, to understand how structures were built and to inform restoration projects.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Show students images of different building materials (e.g., brick, stone, wood, thatch). Ask them to sort the materials into two groups: 'Likely in London 1666' and 'Not likely in London 1666'. Discuss their choices, focusing on why wood and thatch were common.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are walking down a very narrow street in London in 1666. What dangers might you see or experience related to the buildings around you?' Encourage students to mention overhanging stories, close proximity of houses, and flammable materials.

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a simple drawing of a street. Ask them to add two features that would have been common in London in 1666 and explain in one sentence why each feature made the city a fire risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to teach Year 2 about London 1666 building materials?

Use tactile sorting of wood, thatch, and daub samples alongside Hollar's images. Students classify and test material strength with gentle bending. This builds vocabulary like 'timber frame' while linking to fire risk, reinforced by group model construction for retention.

What activities show urban density in 1666 London?

Street model building and fire spread mapping work well. Groups construct tight layouts with craft materials, then simulate spread with string or crayons. Presentations highlight how narrow spaces trapped heat, connecting directly to the Great Fire's causes.

How can active learning help Year 2 understand 1666 London?

Hands-on tasks like role-playing market scenes or building models make the past tangible. Students physically navigate crowded props or test material flammability, grasping density and fire risks better than passive viewing. Peer discussions during debriefs solidify cause-effect links, boosting engagement and memory.

Common misconceptions about pre-fire London for KS1?

Pupils often imagine stone houses or empty streets. Address with material sorts and density maps: students handle artefacts to debunk stone myths and redraw crowded layouts. These active corrections build accurate chronological views of urban change.