Year 2 Trip to Nantwich
Date: 4th May 2022 @ 4:39pm
The highlight of our week was our trip to Nantwich. The children were very excited to be travelling on a coach to the museum and enjoyed a journey chatting with their partners and singing some songs. Once we arrived, we were able to share our prior knowledge with the museum staff. It was wonderful 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. Next, 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 many people sheltered in St Mary’s church during the fire? The building was made of sandstone, so it didn’t burn and hence saved many lives. We also were eager 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. To end the tour, we were shown the pillory where Nicholas Brown was put as punishment for burning down the town. We sang “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! 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.
To conclude our visit to Nantwich Museum, we walked back into the town to sketch some of the Tudor buildings. This was a good chance to closely inspect the design and structural details of the buildings.
What a wonderful trip it was! We were so proud of the children’s beautiful behaviour, enthusiasm and historical knowledge. Year Two, it was a pleasure to take you on this trip.
