Correction — 7 October 2026: The earlier classroom trial was unsupported, and the promised downloadable materials were not supplied. This replacement provides an original activity in full. It is a suggested lesson, not a report of tested classroom results or guaranteed curriculum coverage.
The enquiry
Did the Great Fire introduce brick buildings to London? No: brick buildings already existed. The post-fire rebuilding rules strengthened requirements for brick or stone exteriors. That distinction lets students investigate change without assuming that everything began in 1666.
London Museum's account of Great Fire myths provides the evidence for this question. Teachers should select vocabulary and reading support for their own class.
A suggested 45-minute lesson
Prepare: Open the museum article at its section on rebuilding. Pupils need paper with four headings: claim, evidence, explanation and remaining question. No separate template or download is required.
First 5 minutes: Present the claim “The fire introduced brick buildings to London.” Ask pupils what evidence would be needed to test the word “introduced”. Record their first answers without treating them as established facts.
Next 15 minutes: Read the rebuilding section together. Ask pupils to identify evidence about buildings before the fire and rules after it. They should paraphrase the source and record its title and web address.
Next 15 minutes: In pairs, write a replacement claim that explains both continuity and change. Ask: does a rule prove that every building immediately complied? What further evidence would help answer that question?
Final 10 minutes: Each pupil writes three sentences: their conclusion, the evidence supporting it, and one limit to that evidence. Assess whether the conclusion follows from the source, rather than rewarding a dramatic story.
Support and extension
Offer the sentence stems “Before the fire…” and “After the fire…” and explain the difference between an existing material and a new requirement. For an extension, ask pupils to distinguish legislation, rebuilding work and later historical interpretation.
A useful teacher check is whether pupils avoid the unsupported conclusion that London contained no brick houses before the disaster. There is no single required wording.
An optional historical scenario
After completing the factual enquiry, imagine a rebuilding decision with limited money. Ask what priorities a household might balance and what assumptions your scenario adds. Label those choices as imagined; do not invent a named historical resident or quote.
Teachers can adapt this as a paper exercise or use Nexus Historia's education area. For the sequence of the fire itself, see our outbreak and later fires chronology.