Great Fire of London project sees history lesson go up in flames for pupils at Burnley primary school

A history lesson came to life, quite literally, for pupils at Read St John's Primary School during a Great Fire of London activity week.

By Susan Plunkett

Published 15th Dec 2020, 07:00 BST- 1 min read

For they made a model of how London looked when the fire devastated the city for five days in September, 1666, and acted out the sequence of events that led to it starting in a bakery.

This included carrying out active challenges such as passing a fire ball, a type of extinguisher, and leather buckets to show how the ideas of pulling down houses or exploding streets affected the fire.

The students received a visit from 'Professor Tuesday' from the Lancashire Museum Service and one day all the 26 year one children, along with staff, dressed up in 1666 costumes.

Pupils at Read Primary School in their 1666 outfits as part of their Great Fire of London project

Wearing these they carried out a range of activities such as baking bread, writing with quills and making houses.

Finally, they re-enacted the spread of the fire by burning some of the model houses.

The fire itself destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St Paul's Cathedral and it is estimated to have destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants.

Class teacher Mrs Susan Lee, who was helped by teaching assistant Mrs Sandra Nutter, class support Mrs Amy Knight and cook Joan Hobin, said: "We have learned a lot and had a fabulous week."

Burnley London Professor