Today, Year Two visited St Mary’s Heritage Centre and the Quayside to learn about The Great Fire of Gateshead.
The children took part in a workshop where they learned all about what caused the fire, why it spread so quickly and why it was difficult to put out. To begin, the children learned about life in the 1800s. They looked at household objects and discussed what they were made out of and what they were used for. For some of the objects, their use was obvious whereas other objects were harder to identify. The children had the opportunity to explore a carpet beater, an oil lamp and truncheon, among other things. Then, the children found out that the fire started in a worsted wool factory and spread to a nearby warehouse, which was full of gunpowder and other explosive chemicals. This caused a huge explosion which sent burning timber, stones and even gravestones across the river to Newcastle. The explosion was so huge it was heard as far as Hartlepool.
For the other part of their visit, the children walked along the Quayside. They stood where the fire first started and crossed the river to find out why it continued to spread. Did you know most buildings were made out of wood in the 1800s? This meant that the fire could spread quickly from building to building. There are some surviving buildings in Newcastle but very few. Most were rebuilt with stone after the fire of 1854. The children found out that to stop the fire, houses were pulled down to create a gap in the buildings. The fire lasted for two days and fire tenders from all over the region were sent to help.
