The Great Fire of Gateshead and
Newcastle, 1854
The basics:
Location: Bessie
Surtees House, St Mary's Heritage Centre, Quayside
Keystage: KS1, KS2 (differentiated to needs)
Duration: Either
half-day or full-day
Cost: £230 (pre-tour session at school and later Quayside tour, one class)
£210 (full-day at the Quayside, one class)
£125 (half-day stand-alone Quayside tour ONLY, one class)
Discounts for multiple bookings - contact me for details.
Curriculum:
History, Local Study, thinking skills, Geography
"Who
knew Gateshead even HAD a Great Fire? We've got a whole term's work
out of this. Thanks, Richard!"
- Gateshead teacher
"I had no idea what to do for our Local History part of the new curriculum, and Richard has just helped me to plan the whole term based on this. The Great Fire? A Great topic, more like! Loads of artefacts, ideas and even drama... Thanks, Richard!" - NQT, Newcastle
Despite being less well known
than the Great Fire of London, 1666, our very own North Eastern
tragedy of 1854 was - in many ways - much more destructive. Our
Great Fire started right in the heart of the Gateshead Quayside,
next to the modern Tyne Bridge. Learn about the terrible explosion
of sulphur and fire that caused the deaths of over 50 people in
that fateful night.
There are now three ways to experience learning about the Great Fire with your class:
1) A half-day pre-tour visit to your school by That History Bloke, followed by a later half-day tour of the Quayside.
2) A full-day Quayside-based visit, where we have a pre-tour session at Bessie Surtees House, followed by a tour of the Quayside.
3) A half-day stand-alone tour of the Quayside without a pre-tour session.
The pre-tour session (whether at
school in advance of the Quayside visit, or at Bessie Surtees House
on the same day as the Quayside tour) is an excellent opportunity
to prepare the children for their tour. For KS1, children will be
able to learn about the Quayside
using modern ICT techniques to 'blend' the past
with the present. Together we will work out how the area has
changed since 1854, and - using artefacts and costume - work out
the various jobs of people involved in the fire. For KS2, the
pre-tour session will be a much more investigative activity, where
children will use censuses, maps and artefacts to learn about old
Gateshead and investigate Charles Bertram, local merchant and one
of the event's tragic heroes.
During the actual tour, both KS1 and KS2 children will become detectives, investigating the past. We will chart the fire's progress, from its starting point to the explosion. Along the way, we will discover lost streets and learn about individual victims and survivors of the fire. Children will become the crowds that gathered to watch the blaze unfold, visit buildings that survived its flames, and listen to genuine eyewitness accounts of the tragedy - all in the actual locations where the events really happened!
That History Bloke can now also offer stand-alone tours of the Quayside, focused on the Great Fire - perfect for schools where curriculum time is tight!
Simply contact me (press the orange button!) to make a booking or make further enquiries...
