A Day in the Life of a Londoner in 1666

Have you ever wondered what life was like for Londoners just before the Great Fire started in Pudding Lane and how it felt to be in the midst of a great city as the flames spread?  Year 2 had the opportunity to gain some first-hand experience as they dressed in costume from that era and tried their hand at being apprentices in a range of crafts.

Throughout the morning they learnt how to be leather workers, chandlers, apothecaries, weavers and scholars. An impressive array of leather bookmarks embossed with their initials, candles and samples of weaving were enthusiastically created. They also made cures for ailments ranging from the mundane headaches to the more challenging diseases such as madness and the plague. Having learnt how to make ink from charcoal, iron sulphite and water, the children then used a quill to copy out the Lord’s Prayer in Latin.

During the afternoon session, the children learnt about the contributing factors that allowed the fire to spread so rapidly and how Londoners tried to extinguish it, including creating fire breaks by blowing up houses. They also became ‘archaeologists’, extracting artefacts from dig boxes which they then used to help them decide if the house they were from was burnt down, blown up or not involved in the fire at all.

The whole day was a wonderful experience and really brought our topic lessons to life.
Kay Markides, Head of Nursery and Pre-Prep