sign in sign up
<<
Home , Stanmer, Timeline of Brighton

Stanmer Park Teacher Resources

Hidden gems story starters

Literacy, age range 5-11. Cross curricular links: Geography and Local History*

Learning outcomes Frankland tortoise monument I can: WHAT YOU WILL NEED • identify a local area and understand the This is an indoor or outdoor based changes that have occurred over time activity, and you will need: by using maps and historical photos • whiteboard • use images of places in the wider • projector area of to inspire my creative • images to show story writing • whiteboards for • make deductions and inferences note taking from a mystery object or location, • maps of Stanmer in discussion with my class that give • pictures of features clues about its origin or purpose Churchyard gate in • build up a picture of Stanmer in the past and the people who lived and worked there Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 2

Stanmer Park – what’s the story? The Stanmer estate is huge. It covers 5,000 acres, with parkland, farmland, woodland and a village street. Stanmer gets its name from the stony pond (from the Anglo-Saxon words meaning stone (stan) and pond (mere), which can still be seen there today. Stanmer Park was bought by the Pelham family in 1713. The manor house was built, along with landscaped gardens and a walled garden to supply the house with food. During the Victorian era, , which is next to the original pond, and a village of 18 houses were built to house the workers. People still live and work at Stanmer We’re very lucky in Brighton to have an today and the whole park is in the example of a country estate which is open to process of being restored. visitors and still has all these original features.

How to run the session INTRODUCTION OR STARTER Share with the class a short timeline of Stanmer Park. Include that it dates back to bronze age Start with a discussion of where settlement right through to the country estate Stanmer Park is. Look at a being built in Victorian times, to a wartime tank selection of maps from the past base in WW2, and now open park enjoyed by and present*. thousands of visitors each year. Lead a class discussion on geography, map-reading and the Explain there are some hidden gems* in Stanmer distance from school to Stanmer. Park that we are going to explore.

* Visit Stanmer Learning online to find all the pupil activity sources and weblinks. These pages also contain further reading and the specific National Curriculum links for the resource. Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 3

DISCUSSION POINTS Main activity We will find out the real stories at the HIDDEN GEM IMAGES* end of the lesson, but in the meantime we are going to use our imaginations to 1. Water catcher think about what the stories might have 2. Wooden wheel been behind the objects or places. 3. Buckle on the church door We’ll have a chance to talk about each one and then choose one to write a story 4. Tortoise monument starter about. 5. Carved badger These objects may have come from any 6. Palm house time in the last 5000 years. 7. Woodland shelter Think about the following: • who made them and why? 8. Orangery • what’s the story? 9. Gravestones Display the images on the board or share printouts for use on tables. Pupils discuss in pairs what the story might have been and then gather ideas and record them on the whiteboard. Share a few ideas with the class and repeat for two or three images. Show all the images again and point out key details you all notice. Then ask pupils to choose one image they will use as a story starter. Begin as a class to model this using one of the images to brainstorm powerful vocabulary as a class mind-map or on individual whiteboards. Water catcher in the park at Stanmer Discuss potential story openings, for example: • dramatic • engaging HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO • unusual • going straight into the action SPARK A CLASS DISCUSSION: • describing an object in detail • mysterious first sentence Share excerpts of a few of the stories or • a question or statement just share the first lines for intrigue. Pupils then take an image for themselves and Here are some questions to spark a class are challenged to write the first paragraph of discussion: their story. 1. How does it capture the imagination?

2. How could it be improved? * Visit Stanmer Learning online 3. What do you think happens next? to find all the pupil activity sources and 4. What do you want to find out more weblinks. These pages also contain further about? reading and the specific National Curriculum links for the resource. Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 4 The real stories Now let’s find out about the real stories behind each image. Teachers: ensure plenty of time for this section.* * Teachers – you will need to refer to the online version for the links and instructions to explain each resource.

Adapting the session The disused orangery FOR THOSE THAT NEED MORE SUPPORT Homework ideas For lower ability or younger children: RESEARCH • use fewer story starters Ask children to research another local area or park and see what they can find out about the • model one story starter together ‘hidden gems’ there. • allow children to work in pairs in thinking about Ideas could include: their story start • the Chattri • • provide vocabulary sheets • Brighton Pier • Preston Park and Manor FOR THOSE THAT NEED A CHALLENGE OUTDOOR LEARNING For higher ability or older children: Can children use natural materials to create their • ask children to write in the style of a particular own natural sculpture or den, in their garden author or as if they are writing a historical story or local woodland? start - for example in the style of C.S. Lewis Be careful not to damage anything if you do this!

Useful links & further reading • Stanmer Estate - History & Heritage by Brighton & City Council • Pictures of Stanmer from the 1970s www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/leisure-and- -1990s www.bevendeanhistory.org.uk/beyond/ libraries/parks-and-green-spaces/stanmer-estate- stanmer_conservation_area.html history-and-heritage • History of Stanmer - shows the Pelham • The History of Stanmer Park by My crest with pelicans www.british-history.ac.uk/ www.mybrightonandhove. vch//vol7/pp238-240 org.uk/places/placepark/stanmer/stanmer- • Ten things you didn’t know about park#:~:text=Stanmer%20House%20was%20 Stanmer Park built%20in,often%20used%20for%20 www.theargus.co.uk/news/10968575.ten- artillery%20practice. things-you-didnt-know-about-stanmer-park/ • Stanmer Restoration project - info for • T eacher info about the Frankland teachers, video link https://www.youtube. monument www.publicsculpturesofsussex. com/watch?v=o4n8_h6AYqc co.uk/object?id=7 • Amateur video walking tour of • Stanmer’ s Historical Treasure Trove by Stanmer https://www.youtube.com/ Anooshka Rawden, SDNPA watch?v=54ZVPGU5AqU www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ • The Preston Park pet cemetery - a child’s migrated/article/inline/Stanmer%20history%20 tour https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/ and%20heritage%20item%20SDNPA%20 places/placeland/preston-manor/pets-graveyard- for%20web%20Oct%2019.pdf at-preston-manor 7145 Brighton & Hove City Council Communications Team