Author: Becky Brown

Year 2 History
The Great Fire of London

How did the Great Fire of London start?
Many years ago people had to use fires for heating, cooking and light. Houses were usually built using wood and had thatched roofs, which meant they could catch fire easily.
The Great Fire of London started in a bakery, near Pudding Lane on the night of 2nd September, 1666. The bakery was owned by a man called Thomas Farriner, it was a spark from his oven that started the fire.

Key People

Thomas Farriner
The baker who started the fire.

Samuel Pepys
A man who kept a diary of the fire.

Key Events

1666
Sunday 2nd September	The fire starts at 1am. / Samuel Pepys starts writing a diary about the fire in his diary.
Monday 3rd September	The fire gets very close to the Tower of London.
Tuesday 4th September	St Paul’s Cathedral is destroyed by the fire.
Wednesday 5th September	The wind dies down and the fire spreads more slowly.
Thursday 6th September	The fire is finally put out. / Thousands of people are homeless.

Firefighters and Townspeople
Everyone helped to try and put out the fires.

King Charles II
Charles II was the King of England in 1666.
So many homes were destroyed that after the fire he decided that houses must be built further apart and built from stone not timber.

Year 2 History
The Great Fire of London

1666
The Great Fire of London

Key Vocabulary

Bakery	A place that makes bread, cakes, etc.
St Paul’s Cathedral	A very large church in London. A new St Paul’s Cathedral was built after the fire.
Diary	A book that people write about their lives in.
Firebreak	A gap that stops fire spreading to nearby buildings.
Plague	A disease carried by rats and fleas. Humans can catch the plague if bitten by an infected flea.
Pudding Lane	A small street in London where Thomas Farriner’s bakery was. / The place where the Great Fire started.
Rebuilt	Building something again after it has been broken or destroyed.
River Thames	The river which runs through the middle of London.

Sticky learning: Can you answer any of these questions?
When was the Great Fire of London?
How long was the Great Fire of London?
How did the fire start?
Scan this QR code and complete the Great Fire of London quiz