Year 2 Trip to Nantwich Museum
Date: 25th May 2023 @ 2:27pm
On Tuesday, we were delighted to be going on a trip to Nantwich to learn more about the Great Fire of Nantwich.
Once we arrived, we were able to share our prior knowledge with the museum staff. It was great to hear how much the children already remembered about the Great Fires of London and Nantwich. The museum had a large timeline which allowed us to see the chronology of historical events in the United Kingdom and those specific to Nantwich. We enjoyed looking at artefacts, models and replicas as we considered why the fire would burn so easily and spread so quickly. After this, we split into two groups.
The first group enjoyed a walking tour of Nantwich with Barry from Nantwich Museum. It was interesting to learn about the history of the narrow streets, street names, design of the buildings and other historical features of the town. Did you know that if the Tudor buildings had straight lines on them, it meant that they used to be hotels? We also learnt that people sheltered in St Mary’s church during the fire and the building was made of sandstone, so it didn’t burn and hence saved many lives. We also were interested to see The Bear Hotel and talk about the four wild bears that were released during the fire! We recognised Queen’s Aid House and the plaque to say thank you to Queen Elizabeth for her help after the fire. What superb hisory detectives we have in Year 2! To end the tour, we were shown the pillory where Nicholas Brown was put as punishment for burning down the town. Barry taught us the song “Nicholas Brown burned down the town!”
The second group remained at the museum to explore artefacts, dress up and practise writing Tudor letters with a quill. We were particularly interested in the Tudor watering can and the wooden shoes that were worn to protect shoes and clothing from the dirty streets. The museum session also involved a chance for a drama activity to understand why a fire break was necessary and how it worked.
Next, it was lunch time where we enjoyed eating our packed lunches together back at the museum. After lunch, the groups swapped so that everybody had participated in both the tour and museum session.
What a fascinating trip it was! We were so proud of the children’s wonderful behaviour, enthusiasm and historical knowledge and look forward to another trip soon.
Miss Roxburgh and the Key Stage One Team.
