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Samuel Pepys: Great Fire of London - part 1

60 second histories

This video covers:  The first in a 5-part series, Samuel Pepys' personal experience of the initial outbreak of the fire

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It was about three o’clock on Sunday the second of September sixteen sixty six, when I was woken by our maid, Jane. She had been up late and told us about a fire in the City. So I immediately got out of bed, put on my dressing gown and went to her window, whereupon I saw the fire. Not being used to such fires I thought it was far enough away not to bother us, so I went back to bed. I woke again at seven in the morning and saw that the fire appeared to have died down and it seemed further away. I wasn’t particularly worried by it so I went about my work but when I learned that more than three hundred houses had burned down during the night I had another look through the window and saw that the fire was burning all along Fish Street next to London Bridge. That’s when I decided to walk to the Tower of London and climb up high to see the fire better.
Eras: 
17th Century
Great Fire of London
Topics: 
Great Fire of London
Key people
Character: 
Samuel Pepys
Key words: 
History, Social Studies, European, European history, Great Fire of London, Fire of London, Great fire, fire, London, 1666, September 1666, Samuel Pepys, KS1, Key Stage 1, KS2, Key Stage 2, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6, Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, Tower of London, London Bridge, Kings bakery, King's Bakery, bakery, Pudding Lane, Saint Magnes Church, St Magnes Church, Fish Street, river, boat, Stillyard, Thames, flames,