Some streets were widened and two new streets were created. The families were so enthusiastic and generated loads of text and drawings from which I got so many ideas! [13] They were determined to thwart any similar tendencies in his son, and when the Great Fire threatened the City, they refused the offers that Charles made of soldiers and other resources. [8] By "inartificial", Evelyn meant unplanned and makeshift, the result of organic growth and unregulated urban sprawl. Not just hand-me downs each strand threads a story with it. He decided that he must help, Put on his boots and cloak,And he marched out of his palaceTowards the fire and smoke.He helped some fire-fighters whoHad started to despair,And everyone was really gladThat the good king was there. We tackle some common myths and misconceptions about this well-known disaster. A Modern Charlotte Mason. A 17th century poem about The Great Fire of London. Why did The Great Fire happen? It too had little impact. After Three short animations exploring The Great Fire of London of 1666 - the causes of The Fire, what happened during The Fire and how the city was rebuilt afterwards. hours of the morning the choking smoke woke him up. Uh oh! 1/6. [84] "The Duke of York hath won the hearts of the people with his continual and indefatigable pains day and night in helping to quench the Fire," wrote a witness in a letter on 8 September. Much time was spent planning new street layouts and drawing up new building regulations. Amazingly, only a few people are recorded as having died during the fire. [126][127] In Italy, a pamphlet circulated comparing London "to Lucifer in its proud arrogance and its spectacular fall". A useful editable unit overview to accompany our KS1 History - The Great Fire of London. Some were eloquent in their simplicity: Old London that, / Hath stood in State, / above six hundred years, / In six days space / Woe and alas! The Great Fire broke out from a baker's house in Pudding Lane. It began on 2 September 1666 and lasted just under five days. A thousand watchmen or "bellmen" who patrolled the streets at night watched for fire as one of their duties. In the early . By law, every parish church had to hold equipment for these efforts: long ladders, leather buckets, axes, and "firehooks" for pulling down buildings. [50][51], The fire spread quickly in the high wind and, by mid-morning on Sunday, people abandoned attempts at extinguishing it and fled. [124][125] The committee's report was presented to Parliament on 22 January 1667. [140] New public buildings were created on their predecessors' sites; perhaps the most famous is St Paul's Cathedral and its smaller cousins, Christopher Wren's 51 new churches. [19][20], The human habitations were crowded, and their design increased the fire risk. [40] This did not happen, as inhabitants panicked and fled. "[101] Most refugees camped in any nearby available unburned area to see if they could salvage anything from their homes. [83] In this state of emergency, the King put his brother James, Duke of York, in charge of operations. Dominic Sandbrook describes the events of 2 September 1666 - the date that the City of London was engulfed by "an infinite great fire" - from the perspective of Samuel Pepys. It took place twelve months after the great plague of 1665. The first, in 1633, severely damaged the structure and weakened it to some degree. It took ten years to rebuild. The section "Fire hazards in the City" is based on Hanson, 77101 unless otherwise indicated. "[81][82], Monday marked the beginning of organised action, even as order broke down in the streets, especially at the gates, and the fire raged unchecked. First, we needed an expert. 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. The fire reached its peak on 4 September 1666, spreading from the Temple in the west to near the Tower of London in the east. [107] The dramatist James Shirley and his wife are believed to have died in this way. - 2. All poems are shown free of charge for educational purposes only in accordance with fair use guidelines. We hope you enjoy it. [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. Click here to see our privacy policy. [41], A fire broke out at Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane[a] a little after midnight on Sunday 2 September. 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. 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. The authors of these poems were as diverse as their literary output. It was standard practice at that time to demolish It successfully stopped the fire around the Tower of London and Cripplegate. The section "Tuesday" is based on Tinniswood, 7796, unless otherwise indicated. London Bridge acted more like a fire break and stopped the fire from rampaging into the south of London. Pinterest. Approximately, what is London's population? This drastic method of creating firebreaks was increasingly used towards the end of the Great Fire, and modern historians believe that this in combination with the wind dying down was what finally won the struggle. This made it much easier for the fire to spread. [57], Throughout Monday, the fire spread to the west and north. A fast tempo song as The Great Fire rages through London. National curriculum objectives: KS1 History: Y1. [95][96], The wind dropped on Tuesday evening, and the firebreaks created by the garrison finally began to take effect on Wednesday, 5September. It may have been caused by a spark from his oven falling onto a pile of fuel nearby. How might you describe the fire if you were the sky that night? 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. The easiest way to state the cause of the Great Fire of London is to blame Thomas Farynor and his family and servants. "[69], Suspicion soon arose in the threatened city that the fire was no accident. [37], The use of water to extinguish the fire was frustrated. For other "Great Fires", see. [132][133], Radical rebuilding schemes poured in for the gutted City and were encouraged by Charles. Day 1 - The Great Fire of London Diary Entry Missing word. [90] James's firefighters created a large firebreak to the north of the conflagration,[91] although it was breached at multiple points. [136] Wren's plan was particularly challenging to implement because of the need to redefine property titles. One-third of London was destroyed and about 100,000 people were made homeless. [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. Order in the streets broke down as rumours arose of suspicious foreigners setting fires. Here in Pudding Lane Life in the busy streets of London before The Great Fire. They deposited their valuables in parish churches away from the direct threat of fire. Although he. Description. They seemed much troubled, and the King commanded me to go to my Lord Mayor from him and command him to spare no houses, but to pull down before the fire every way." And what if they escaped? My London Story: Poems on the Buses Poetry Competition. The social and economic problems created by the disaster were overwhelming. This film tells you. He observed a great exodus of carts and pedestrians through the bottleneck City gates, making for the open fields to the north and east, "which for many miles were strewed with moveables of all sorts, and tents erecting to shelter both people and what goods they could get away. [14][7], The city was essentially medieval in its street plan, an overcrowded warren of narrow, winding, cobbled alleys. Even in such an emergency, the idea of having the unpopular royal troops ordered into the City was political dynamite. Paul Perro's poem, written in 2009, is fun and easy to read. [28], The crucial factor which frustrated firefighting efforts was the narrowness of the streets. [58] The spread to the south was mostly halted by the river, but it had torched the houses on London Bridge and was threatening to cross the bridge and endanger the borough of Southwark on the south bank of the river. Charles's next, sharper message in 1665 warned of the risk of fire from the narrowness of the streets and authorised both imprisonment of recalcitrant builders and demolition of dangerous buildings. When did it take place? [122][123], A committee was established to investigate the cause of the Great Fire, chaired by Sir Robert Brooke. St. Margaret Church. The fire's spread to the north reached "the financial heart of the City". Step inside the Fire! Annus Mirabilis is a poem written by John Dryden published in 1667. After the fire, London was reconstructed on essentially the same medieval street plan which still exists today. During this workshop the children will, create 10 second pictures from the period and later debate with Samuel Pepys how the fire changed . Gunpowder was used to blow up houses. The family was trapped upstairs but managed to climb from an upstairs window to the house next door, except for a maidservant who was too frightened to try, thus becoming the first victim. fire-breaks, and the wind changing direction, halted the spread. It had also pushed outwards beyond the wall into squalid extramural slums such as Shoreditch, Holborn, and Southwark, and had reached far enough to include the independent City of Westminster. [131], A special Fire Court was set up from February 1667 to December 1668, and again from 1670 to February 1676. the fire, the king ordered that London should be rebuilt, with The Great Fire of London 1666. [149] Despite these factors, London retained its "economic pre-eminence" because of the access to shipping routes and its continued central role in political and cultural life in England. [112] The fire destroyed approximately 15 percent of the city's housing. As . google_ad_client="pub-0482092160869205";google_ad_slot="5105652707";google_ad_width=120;google_ad_height=600; Copyright 2014 history-for-kids.com # The Great fire of London - A Poem [#Poem](https://gab.com/tags/Poem) [#Poetry](https://gab.com/tags/Poetry). rebuilding. in charge. sung as a round. 330acres is the size of the area within the Roman wall, according to standard reference works (see, for instance, Sheppard, 37), although Tinniswood gives that area as a square mile (667acres). The Great Fire of London 1666. On Tuesday, the fire spread over nearly the whole City, destroying St Paul's Cathedral and leaping the River Fleet to threaten Charles II 's court at Whitehall. A song about rebuilding London following The Great Fire. 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 . London William Blake. The area around Pudding Lane was full of warehouses containing highly flammable things like timber, rope and oil. Public buildings, like churches, were paid for with money from a new coal tax. [32], The firefighting methods relied on demolition and water. I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow. [87] The Duke of York's command post at Temple Bar, where Strand meets Fleet Street, was supposed to stop the fire's westward advance towards the Palace of Whitehall. Who first invaded Britannia? [162][163] Another monument marks the spot where the fire is said to have died out: the Golden Boy of Pye Corner in Smithfield. PDF [500 KB] Share this page: Viewing PDF files Our downloadable resource sheets are in PDF format. [9] London had been a Roman settlement for four centuries and had become progressively more crowded inside its defensive city wall. Its hard not to be swept up in the drama taking place on the streets of London. 2. The Great Fire of London - a fun poem for kids London Uk School Crafts Kids Cereal Boxes Lady Bug Handmade 3D Tudor House model - Great Fire of London UK! / is burnd and drownd in tears. But there were also heroic couplets and Pindaric odes and Latin verses. The typical multistory timbered London tenement houses had "jetties" (projecting upper floors). 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. His ovens were on lucky, and she did not escape. Additional songs about The Great Fire of London. And we'll meet Christopher Wren, a key figure in the design and building of a new city. Contemporary maps record the site as 23 Pudding Lane. It took nearly 50 years to rebuild the burnt area of London. When firefighters arrived at the address, they found the building almost entirely engulfed in flames. Marks of weakness, marks of woe. by Ksutherland. Q3. 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. Nov 2, 2015 - A funny and educational story poem about The Great Fire of London for kids. It was under these conditions, that a fire started at 83-85 Summer Street on the evening of November 9, 1872. [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". This novel deals with one of Ackroyd's great heroes, Charles Dickens, and is a reworking of Little Dorrit. Our friendly presenter for these animations is a rat called Maureen. 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. [26], The high Roman wall enclosing the city impeded escape from the inferno, restricting exit to eight narrow gates. By the time that Charles took over command from the ineffectual Lord Mayor, the fire was already out of control. Bloodworth is generally thought to have been appointed to the office of Lord Mayor as a yes man, rather than by possessing requisite capabilities for the job. 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. What could a poem inspired by the Great Fire look and sound like? The damage caused by the Great Fire was immense: 436 acres of London were destroyed, including 13,200 houses and 87 out of 109 churches. By William Blake. The use of the major firefighting technique of the time, the creation of firebreaks by means of removing structures in the fire's path, was critically delayed due to the indecisiveness of the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Bloodworth. The houses were made of wood, and the lanes between them were very narrow. What happened when Arthur Thistlewood and his men tried to murder the British PM on 23 Feb 1820? See results. Everybody was in a panic. A communal toilet seat from the 12th century reveals the underside of life in medieval London. ", Records on the Great Fire of London 1666 from the UK Parliamentary Collections, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Fire_of_London&oldid=1141001049, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 21:25. During the first couple of days, few people had any notion of fleeing the burning city altogether. It's a fun poem, but educational too. After a fantastic performance of the first draft later that day, Saras final product is below for you all to enjoy. What does Sam's silverware tell us about Pepys and his times? For 37 years, The Backstreet was an iconic part of Londons leather and gay bar scene. The fire was made worse by unusually dry summer weather. Jerusalem is laid in the dust once more, Babylon is conquered. A rumour is not about the source but the spread. See results. Only 51 churches and about 9000 houses were rebuilt. [151][120] The Royalist perspective of the fire as accidental was opposed by the Whig view questioning the loyalties of Catholics in general and the Duke of York in particular. He even joined in the fire fighting himself. A duty was imposed on coal to support civic rebuilding costs. refused to do this though, as he was worried about the cost of The Fire! The Great Fire of London is a fascinating story from history; without it, London would be a very different place today. [7], The relationship between the City and the Crown was often tense. Fire! Find out more about its history. So I was called for, and did tell the King and Duke of Yorke what I saw, and that unless His Majesty did command houses to be pulled down nothing could stop the fire. Never until the mankind making. [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. fire started on Sunday 2nd September in the baker's shop of Thomas [74], The fears of terrorism received an extra boost from the disruption of communications and news. As a result, the fire not only devastated the City of London; it also proved detrimental to Charles II's reign and increased instability throughout England. Copyrighted poems are the property of the copyright holders. But the most remarkable thing about this literature of loss is that almost as soon as it saw the light of day it evolved into a literature of renewal. What are the origins of London? On Tuesday night the wind dropped and the fire-fighters finally gained control. If it had been rebuilt under some of these plans, London would have rivalled Paris in Baroque magnificence. 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. [21] The fire hazard was well perceived when the top jetties all but met across the narrow alleys"as it does facilitate a conflagration, so does it also hinder the remedy", wrote one observer. With such a series of events, its no surprise that countless paintings, novels and dramatisations have been inspired by the fire of 1666. I was the circus animal escaped from its cage. There are a lot of reasons why the fire was so large, mostly to do with the way houses were built - a lot of . We'll encounter Samuel Pepys and learn how he documented The Fire in his famous diary. 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". The Great Fire of London - Susanna Davidson 2015-08-07 Find out all about the Great Fire of London, in 1666 - what caused it, how it spread, how it was put out and how the city was rebuilt in its wake. The Great Fire of London is one of the most well-known disasters in London's history. Firework Poems. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}5131N 005W / 51.51N 0.09W / 51.51; -0.09, The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666,[1] gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the wall to the west. We showcase five lovely stories from our collection. Samuel Pepys, the London diarist (Image: John Hayls/Public domain) That night the maids in the household of diarist Samuel Pepys were up late preparing food for the next day's Sunday dinner. [150], According to Jacob Field, "the reaction to the Fire revealed England's long-standing hostility to Catholics, which manifested itself most visibly at times of crisis". 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. A lot of people in London died from the Great Plague. It was the worst fire in London's history. Im nothing new, I just joined in the race. Three short animations exploring The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 - why it happened, the main events of the Plot, and the consequences for Guy Fawkes and the other plotters. [157] During the Bombay plague epidemic two centuries later, this belief led to the burning of tenements as an antiplague measure. The Great Fire itself is was such a huge moment in our history. A funny and educational story poem about The Great Fire of London for kids. [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.