War, Plague & Fire 1500s-1660s Find and discuss: Adult prompts to inspire discussion with primary school children

This will help you find some key objects and displays, but please be guided by your pupils. Discuss the things they find interesting.

© Museum of London 2015. This sheet is designed to be edited by teachers. The Museum cannot take responsibility for edited content.

The questions on the back can be used as starting points for discussion.

. © Museum of London

War, Plague & Fire 1500s-1660s Find and discuss: Adult prompts to inspire discussion with primary school children

Questions to help discussion

Elizabethan London  Find the ‘Copperplate map’ (see print on adjacent wall). What are people doing on Moorfields? Can you find London Bridge? (It is hard to spot, find Moorgate and follow road down to the river, the beginning of bridge is at the very bottom of map).  Now look at the ‘London from Southwark’ painting. Can you find St Paul’s, the Tower of London and London Bridge? Find the heads on pikes on London Bridge. Why were heads displayed like this?  Find the Rose Theatre in the painting before looking at the model (it is on the south bank of the river). Then examine the Rose Theatre model. What do you think it would have been like to watch Shakespeare perform in such a theatre?

English Civil War  Can you imagine London at war? Discuss who rules Britain today and how in the past the king was more powerful than parliament. Explain that Oliver Cromwell and parliament ruled after King Charles was executed. Find the wax effigy of his face.

17th Century Homes  How do you think people entertained themselves in the 17th century, before TV and Ipods? Look at the virginal and listen to the music recording.  Do you think this room and the things in it would belong to a rich family? Would it be a nice place to live?

The Plague  Find the plague bell. When was it rung? Why was burying the dead a problem?  To stop plague spreading families were locked in their homes with sick relatives. Do you think this was a sensible policy? What would it be like to be locked in?  Smell the things people thought would save them from catching the plague.

The Fire of London  Find the wood burning oven. What different fuels can we use to heat food today? (eg electricity and gas, but also wood-fired pizza ovens, BBQs etc).  Why was fire such a regular event in London in the 1600s and why was the fire of 1666 so bad? How much of London burnt down?  Find the tankard and read about Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey. Do you think he should be remembered as a hero?  Listen to eyewitness accounts in the Fire Experience, and examine what people are doing in paintings of the fire. Discuss what it would have been like.  Discuss 17th century firefighting equipment. (Make sure you look up at the ceiling to see the fire hook.) Discuss differences in firefighting and fire insurance today.  Find the fundraising receipt. Discuss whether we have similar disasters in the news today and fundraising to help people made homeless by such a disaster.

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