The Great Fire of London for Kids: A Guide for Parents and Teachers
Hello, amazing parents and teachers! The Great Fire of London is one of the most dramatic and important events in British history. It’s a powerful story of disaster, resilience, and rebirth that captures the imagination of young learners. But how do we bring the sights, sounds, and significance of 1666 to life in a way that is both engaging and educational?
At The Teaching Couple, we’ve designed our “The Great Fire of London 1666” presentation—which you’ll find embedded on this page—to be a fantastic visual starting point. This article serves as the perfect companion, providing a narrative of the event and, most importantly, practical tips for how you can teach this gripping topic in your classroom.
What Was London Like in 1666?
To understand the fire, we first need to picture the city. In 1666, London was a very different place. The city was a crowded maze of narrow, winding streets. Most of the houses were packed tightly together and built from wood and timber, with many having flammable thatched roofs. This setup meant that a fire, once started, could spread incredibly fast.
The Spark That Ignited a City
The Great Fire of London began in the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666. The blaze started in a bakery on Pudding Lane, owned by a man named Thomas Farriner. It’s believed that a spark from his oven ignited some nearby flammable materials.
This small spark became a disaster because of three main factors that helped the fire spread:
- Wooden Houses: The timber buildings were highly flammable and acted like fuel for the fire.
- Narrow Streets: The streets were so close together that the fire could easily jump from one house to the next.
- Strong Wind: A strong easterly wind blew through the city, fanning the flames and carrying embers to new areas.
An Eyewitness to History: Samuel Pepys’ Diary
Much of what we know about the Great Fire comes from the detailed diary of a man named Samuel Pepys. He was a naval administrator who lived in London and wrote about the fire as it happened. His firsthand account gives us a powerful glimpse into the chaos and terror of the event. He wrote, “The sky was all of a flame with the fire, and the noise of people crying and the crackling of the fire made the scene very dreadful to behold.”
The Aftermath and Rebuilding a Safer London
The fire raged for over three days, destroying a huge part of the city. Around 13,200 houses and 87 churches were burned to the ground. Thousands of Londoners were left homeless, forced to shelter in temporary camps outside the city.
However, out of the ashes came a new, safer London. The rebuilding was guided by new regulations that would change the city forever:
- Brick and Stone Buildings: New laws required buildings to be constructed from fire-resistant materials like brick and stone instead of wood.
- Wider Streets: The city was redesigned with wider streets and more open spaces to stop fires from spreading so easily in the future.
- An Organised Response: The disaster highlighted the need for a proper firefighting service. Before 1666, efforts were disorganized, relying on volunteers with buckets and basic hand-pumps. Afterwards, the first formal fire brigades were created to provide a trained and coordinated response to emergencies.
How to Teach the Great Fire of London in Your Classroom
This historical event is filled with opportunities for creative and memorable lessons. Here are a few ideas:
- Write a Diary Entry: After learning about Samuel Pepys, ask students to write their own diary entry as if they were an eyewitness to the fire. Encourage them to describe what they can see, hear, and smell. This is a great way to develop empathy and descriptive writing skills.
- Build a Tudor Street: Have students create model Tudor houses using cardboard boxes and craft materials. They can paint them with black “timber” beams and add straw (or yellow paper) for a thatched roof. Assembling them into a narrow, crowded street will give them a powerful visual understanding of why the fire spread so quickly.
- Create a Timeline: Use the key dates from the presentation to create a large classroom timeline. Students can draw pictures or write sentences for each day of the fire, from the start at Pudding Lane on September 2nd to when it was finally extinguished on September 6th.
- “Fire-Fighting” Relay Race: To understand the challenges of firefighting in 1666, set up a simple relay race. Give teams buckets and have them transfer water from one point to another. This fun, active game helps illustrate how slow and difficult it was to fight the blaze without modern equipment.
- Then and Now Comparisons: Ask students to compare images of 1666 London with modern London. What has changed? What has stayed the same? Discuss the differences in buildings, street layouts, and fire safety measures (like fire engines and hydrants).
The Great Fire of London is a story of destruction, but it’s also a story of resilience and innovation. We hope this guide helps you share its important lessons with your students. For a full visual overview, be sure to use our “The Great Fire of London 1666” presentation!
