How did the Great Fire of London start?

In this lesson, we will learn about when the Great Fire of London began, looking at where it started and how it quickly spread throughout the city.

How did the Great Fire of London start?

In this lesson, we will learn about when the Great Fire of London began, looking at where it started and how it quickly spread throughout the city.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. To understand when and how the fire started. To know that the fire started after midnight on September 2, 1666. It started inside a bakery in Pudding Lane, near London Bridge.
  2. To understand how the fire spread.
  3. To describe the key features of houses and streets in the seventeenth century.
  4. To understand why the City of London's architecture played a key role in the quick spread of the fire.
  5. To learn about the false accusation against French watchmaker Robert Hubert.

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

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5 Questions

Q1.
Which King was left in charge of much of Britain after the last Romans left in 410 AD?
King Alfred the Great
Correct answer: King Vortigern
Q2.
What was the name of the town the Anglo-Saxons built near Londinium?
Corinium
Correct answer: Lundenwick
Q3.
In which year did Alfred the Great conquer London?
885 AD
Correct answer: 886 AD
887 AD
Q4.
During the reign of which ruler was the White Tower at the Tower of London built?
Alfred The Great
Elizabeth I
Henry VIII
Correct answer: William I (William the Conqueror)
Q5.
Which Tudor monarch commissioned the building of St James's Palace?
Elizabeth I
Henry VII
Correct answer: Henry VIII

5 Questions

Q1.
Where did the Great Fire of London begin?
Correct answer: In a bakery.
In a school.
Q2.
The fire began on Pudding Lane. True or false?
False
Correct answer: True
Q3.
Why did the fire spread so quickly? Tick two.
It was raining heavily.
Most houses were made out of bricks.
Correct answer: Most of London's buildings were made out of wood and had straw roofs.
Correct answer: There was no fire brigade to fight the fire.
Q4.
Which important landmark was destroyed by the fire?
London Bridge
St James's Palace
Correct answer: St Paul's Cathedral
Tower of London
Q5.
When was the fire extinguished?
Monday, 3rd September, 1666
Correct answer: Thursday, 6th September, 1666
Tuesday, 4th September, 1666
Wednesday, 5th September, 1666

Lesson appears in

UnitHistory / The Great Fire of London

History