1. The Great Fire of London is a key topic in Key Stage 1 classrooms across the nation. Porter gives the figure as eight[3] and Tinniswood as "in single figures", although he adds that some deaths must have gone unrecorded and that, besides direct deaths from burning and smoke inhalation, refugees also perished in the impromptu camps. [138], Instead, much of the old street plan was recreated in the new City. Museum of London registered charity number 1139250, Follow us on Twitter for news, views and conversation about London, Join us on Facebook and share your views on current London issues, Browse our YouTube videos of teaching resources, London history, fashion and more, See objects from our collection, snapshots of events and share your visits with us on Instagram. The authors of these poems were as diverse as their literary output. Only 51 churches and about 9000 houses were rebuilt. [85], On Monday evening, hopes were dashed that the massive stone walls of Baynard's Castle, Blackfriars would stay the course of the flames, the western counterpart of the Tower of London. [120] Allegations that Catholics had started the fire were exploited as powerful political propaganda by opponents of pro-Catholic Charles II's court, mostly during the Popish Plot and the exclusion crisis later in his reign. family and ran outside, as the shop burned down. By the time it was over four days later, much of the medieval city lay in smoking ruins. The Great Fire itself is was such a huge moment in our history. Much time was spent planning new street layouts and drawing up new building regulations. 4 September 1666, around 11pm. in charge. The fire spread easily because London was very dry after a long, hot summer. He rescued his This Year 2 Great Fire of London KS1 History pack contains everything you need to teach your class what they need to know about one of the most devastating years in London's history - and it's all prepared and ready for you to download and teach! However, early on Tuesday morning, the flames jumped over the Fleet and outflanked them, driven by the unabated easterly gale, forcing them to run for it. 'A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London' by Dylan Thomas tells of a speaker's inability to comprehend great losses. . [30], Fires were common in the crowded wood-built city with its open fireplaces, candles, ovens, and stores of combustibles. When he first saw the fire he is reported to have said that It is true that several fire engines fell into the Thames while they were being filled with water. [115], The Court of Aldermen sought to quickly begin clearing debris and re-establish food supplies. The Great Fire of London engulfed 13,000 houses, nearly 90 churches, and scores of public buildings. Here is a quiz with 15 questions great for kids in primary school (KS1, KS2) as well as for older kids and adults in need of a refresher. A thousand watchmen or "bellmen" who patrolled the streets at night watched for fire as one of their duties. One-third of London was destroyed and about 100,000 people were made homeless. The chaos at the gates was such that the magistrates briefly ordered the gates shut, in the hope of turning the inhabitants' attention from safeguarding their own possessions to fighting the fire: "that, no hopes of saving any things left, they might have more desperately endeavoured the quenching of the fire. Charles' brother James, Duke of York, offered the use of the Royal Life Guards to help fight the fire. [109][110][111] The monetary value of the loss was estimated at around 910 million pounds[112][113] (equivalent to 1.79billion in 2021). As when some dire usurper Heav'n provides. After enjoying the poem, please scroll down a little further to find out some more facts, that will help you discuss the subject with your child for a little longer. Confusion between parish and private firefighting efforts led the insurance companies in 1832 to form a combined firefighting unit which would eventually become the London Fire Brigade. Some streets were widened and two new streets were created. fire started on Sunday 2nd September in the baker's shop of Thomas People did not know about the dangers of fire. St. Margaret Church. Curriculum topics available: The Great Fire of London. It was the diarist Samuel Pepys who realised how great the threat was, and took the news to the king. Q1. [75] Suspicions rose to panic and collective paranoia on Monday, and both the Trained Bands and the Coldstream Guards focused less on fire fighting and more on rounding up foreigners and anyone else appearing suspicious, arresting them, rescuing them from mobs, or both. Poetry aflame: verse inspired by the Great Fire of London Take a deep breath and take in the evocative scenes of the Great Fire of London in this painting. [120] Trained bands were put on guard and foreigners arrested in locations throughout England. [107] The dramatist James Shirley and his wife are believed to have died in this way. Some were eloquent in their simplicity: Old London that, / Hath stood in State, / above six hundred years, / In six days space / Woe and alas! Find out more about its history. [137][160] In 1681, accusations against the Catholics were added to the inscription on the Monument which read, in part, "Popish frenzy which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched". The Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London - information text - Teaching Slides The Hungry Fire - poem Samuel's Diary - diary Facts about the Fire - information text - Teaching Slides After the Fire - information text - Teaching Slides This book and film would also complement these texts. On Tuesday night the wind dropped and the fire-fighters finally gained control. The cathedral was quickly a ruin. The Thames offered water for firefighting and the chance of escape by boat, but the poorer districts along the riverfront had stores and cellars of combustibles which increased the fire risk. As the fire was spreading so quickly most Londoners concentrated on escaping rather than fighting the fire. Consolidate pupils' learning about The Great Fire of London with these three catchy songs from our Music pages. 57.54. [129][130] Louis tried to take advantage but an attempt by a Franco-Dutch fleet to combine with a larger Dutch fleet ended in failure on 17 September at the Battle of Dungeness when they encountered a larger English fleet led by Thomas Allin. My grandma told me that, and her grandma told her all the way back to a rat who lived over 350 years ago, in the time of the Great. [2] Field argues that the number "may have been higher than the traditional figure of six, but it is likely it did not run into the hundreds": he notes that the London Gazette "did not record a single fatality" and that had there been a significant death toll it would have been reflected in polemical accounts and petitions for charity. London Bridge acted more like a fire break and stopped the fire from rampaging into the south of London. These were completed despite strict restrictions which stated it was illegal to build between the City of London and Westminster. The Great Fire of London. [116] Charles II encouraged the homeless to move away from London and settle elsewhere, immediately issuing a proclamation that "all Cities and Towns whatsoever shall without any contradiction receive the said distressed persons and permit them the free exercise of their manual trades". [128], On 5 October, Marc Antonio Giustinian, Venetian Ambassador in France, reported to the Doge of Venice and the Senate, that Louis XIV announced that he would not "have any rejoicings about it, being such a deplorable accident involving injury to so many unhappy people". Great skills builder . In 1666, a huge fire that started in a tiny bakery burned down most of London. Pepys and Evelyn were the most famous chroniclers of the fire, but it also inspired a few amateurs and hacks One of the more surprising consequences of the fire that destroyed London 350 years ago this week wasthe way it spawned an entire literature of loss. King The firemen saw the shops nearbyAnd said Let's knock these down,Or else they will catch fire tooAnd it will spread through town.But no, the Mayor would not do that,He said Just hang about,The fire is not that bad, you know Wee* could soon put that out!So they tried to put the flames outBut they just grew higher.Sure enough they spread, soon half ofLondon was on fire. The fire's spread to the north reached "the financial heart of the City". and I blew. Find out more about its history. Flew, through every wooden door. Order in the streets broke down as rumours arose of suspicious foreigners setting fires. BEST POEMS ABOUT LONDON. This article is about the 1666 fire of London. [37], The use of water to extinguish the fire was frustrated. Pepys took a coach back into the city from Whitehall, but reached only St Paul's Cathedral before he had to get out and walk. [112] The fire destroyed approximately 15 percent of the city's housing. These objects from our collections tell the story of the Great Fire. Pinterest. Even in such an emergency, the idea of having the unpopular royal troops ordered into the City was political dynamite. This made it much easier for the fire to spread. By the Saturday after the fire "the markets were operating well enough to supply the people" at Moorfields. From what began as a tiny spark in the hush of night, the story of the Great Fire is incredible. [48] Jacob Field notes that although Bloodworth "is frequently held culpable by contemporaries (as well as some later historians) for not stopping the Fire in its early stages there was little [he] could have done" given the state of firefighting expertise and the sociopolitical implications of antifire action at that time. Inspired by the families work throughout the day, Sara then went away to craft her own response to the Great Fire of London, using loads of rhyming fire imagery and deciding how best to merge all those ideas into one poem. Equipment was stored in local churches. The Great Fire of London - Samuel Pepys 2015-03-19 When the king was told about thisHe was really upset. Hubert was convicted, despite some misgivings about his fitness to plead, and hanged at Tyburn on 29 October 1666. No one knows exactly who started the rumour. A lot of people in London died from the Great Plague. Fire! Even [146] The City of London Corporation borrowed heavily to fund its rebuilding, defaulting on its loans in 1683; as a result, it had its privileges stripped by Charles. The fears of the homeless focused on the French and Dutch, England's enemies in the ongoing Second Anglo-Dutch War; these substantial immigrant groups became victims of street violence. Well discover the causes of The Great Fire of London and the roles played by the Lord Mayor and King Charles II during The Fire. While the most famous accounts of the Great Fire, by diarists Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, didn't see the light of day until the 19th century, broadside ballads with titles such as "The. The fire was fought by local people, and soldiers. What happened when Arthur Thistlewood and his men tried to murder the British PM on 23 Feb 1820? Adrian Tinniswood is the author of The Great Fire of London: The Essential Guide (Vintage Classics), John Mullan's 10 of the best: conflagrations, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The mayor Great Fire of London, (September 2-5, 1666), the worst fire in London 's history. [162][163] Another monument marks the spot where the fire is said to have died out: the Golden Boy of Pye Corner in Smithfield. All along the wharves, the rickety wooden tenements and tar paper shacks of the poor were shoehorned amongst "old paper buildings and the most combustible matter of tarr, pitch, hemp, rosen, and flax which was all layd up thereabouts". Nov 2, 2015 - A funny and educational story poem about The Great Fire of London for kids. Explore. [24][25] London was also full of black powder, especially along the riverfront where ship chandlers filled wooden barrels with their stocks. Farynor owned a bakery in Pudding Lane (near London Bridge), and a fire. Who first invaded Britannia? [93] The garrison at the Tower took matters into their own hands after waiting all day for requested help from James's official firemen, who were busy in the west. The Royal Exchange caught fire in the late afternoon, and was a "smoking shell" within a few hours. # The Great fire of London - A Poem [#Poem](https://gab.com/tags/Poem) [#Poetry](https://gab.com/tags/Poetry). Not just hand-me downs each strand threads a story with it. There are a lot of reasons why the fire was so large, mostly to do with the way houses were built - a lot of . What happened after The Great Fire? He later changed his story to say that he had started the fire at the bakery in Pudding Lane. The area around Pudding Lane was full of warehouses containing highly flammable things like timber, rope and oil. The fire started in the home of a baker named Thomas Farynor (Farriner), located on London's Pudding Lane. Some people say sixteen, other people say only six. Samuel Pepys was fast asleep when, at three in the morning of Sunday 2 September 1666, one of his maids, Jane Birch, banged on the door with the news that there was a . Marks of weakness, marks of woe. We teamed up with award-winning performance poet Sara Hirsch, who was keen to tackle the subject of the fire: Fire is so dramatic and vivid; it lends itself to all sorts of metaphors. Pedestrians with handcarts and goods were still on the move away from the fire, heavily weighed down. Why did The Great Fire happen? We'll encounter Samuel Pepys and learn how he documented The Fire in his famous diary. Things people wrote made me see the fire in a whole new way and from that came the idea of a rumour and writing from the perspective of the fire itself. Surprisingly the death toll was six people. We learn how the fire spread across the city and how the Lord Mayor, Samuel Pepys and King Charles II were involved alongside ordinary citizens. [63][62] Several observers emphasise the despair and helplessness which seemed to seize Londoners on this second day,[64] and the lack of efforts to save the wealthy, fashionable districts which were now menaced by the flames, such as the Royal Exchangecombined bourse and shopping centre[65]and the opulent consumer goods shops in Cheapside. [106], Hanson takes issue with the idea that there were only a few deaths, enumerating known deaths from hunger and exposure among survivors of the fire, "huddled in shacks or living among the ruins that had once been their homes" in the cold winter that followed. BBC Teach > Primary Resources > KS1 History > The Great Fire of London, 1. By the time large-scale demolitions were ordered on Sunday night, the wind had already fanned the bakery fire into a firestorm which defeated such measures. So one day during February half term 2017, Sara set up some drop-in poetry workshops in our City Gallery, setting families the task of thinking about the fire in a different way. In Poetry Louis MacNeice, 'London Rain' MacNeice was no Londoner, but he helped London during the most tumultuous period in its history: The Second World War. Destruction From The Great Fire Of London. It successfully stopped the fire around the Tower of London and Cripplegate. Description. This model text is a letter written in role as a person who has escaped from the Great Fire of London. - Slideshow - Teacher's Notes (pdf). Never until the mankind making. Nov 2, 2015 - A funny and educational story poem about The Great Fire of London for kids. People loaded their things onto carts and tried to leave town. London and Sodom may sit down together, / And now condole the Ashes of each other.. Year 3 Great Fire of London Comprehension Whole Class Guided Reading Text. Pudding Lane Film Q3. This historic royal palace was completely consumed, burning all night. With such a series of events, its no surprise that countless paintings, novels and dramatisations have been inspired by the fire of 1666. For 37 years, The Backstreet was an iconic part of Londons leather and gay bar scene. [6][7] John Evelyn, contrasting London to the Baroque magnificence of Paris in 1659, called it a "wooden, northern, and inartificial congestion of Houses". Maureen's ancestors are all-seeing and all-hearing: they have access-all-areas passes to the dirtiest, darkest corners of history! Can you help us find iconic pieces of fashion history? Copyrighted poems are the property of the copyright holders. This scheme of work is also part of a Topic Bundle. True or false? Louis had made an offer to his aunt, the British Queen Henrietta Maria, to send food and whatever goods might be of aid in alleviating the plight of Londoners, yet he made no secret that he regarded "the fire of London as a stroke of good fortune for him " as it reduced the risk of French ships crossing the English Channel being taken or sunk by the English fleet. St Paul's Cathedral was not completed until 1711. The Great Fire of London made addressing all these problems more difficult by exacerbating existing tensions and diverting the government's resources to handle the aftermath of the fire. Download the latest version from Adobe Reviews This resource has not been rated yet. Exhortations to bring workmen and measure the plots on which the houses had stood were mostly ignored by people worried about day-to-day survival, as well as by those who had left the capital; for one thing, with the shortage of labour following the fire, it was impossible to secure workmen for the purpose.