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Restoration England 1660-1685Exam Focus

Exam Technique: Historic Environment

Part of The Great Fire of London — GCSE History

This exam focus covers Exam Technique: Historic Environment within The Great Fire of London for GCSE History. Revise The Great Fire of London in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 9 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 8 of 17 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.

Topic position

Section 8 of 17

Practice

9 questions

Recall

4 flashcards

📝 Exam Technique: Historic Environment

The Great Fire may be your historic environment site. Key connections:

  • Physical remains: Monument, Wren churches, St Paul's, street layouts still visible
  • Primary sources: Samuel Pepys's diary (buried his cheese!), John Evelyn's account
  • Wider context: Link to Dutch War (blamed Dutch), religious tensions (blamed Catholics), government power (rebuilding regulations)
  • Change/continuity: London rebuilt differently but still cramped in places; fire brigades slow to develop

    • Keep building this topic

    Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in The Great Fire of London. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

    The Human Cost — What Happened to Ordinary Londoners?Why Was the Fire So Devastating? — Connected CausationThe Great Fire of London 1666Setting the Scene

    Practice Questions for The Great Fire of London

    Where did the Great Fire of London begin on 2 September 1666?

    • A. A candle factory on Cheapside
    • B. Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane
    • C. The Royal Exchange on Cornhill
    • D. A timber yard near the River Thames
    1 markfoundation

    Which of the following best explains why Lord Mayor Bludworth's response to the Great Fire made the situation worse?

    • A. He ordered too many buildings demolished, creating gaps the fire jumped across
    • B. He fled London, leaving no authority in charge during the crisis
    • C. He dismissed the fire as minor and delayed ordering demolitions to create firebreaks
    • D. He ordered the docks sealed, preventing water supplies from the Thames
    1 markfoundation

    Quick Recall Flashcards

    How many houses were destroyed?
    13,200 houses and 87 churches, including the medieval St Paul's Cathedral. The fire burned for four days, destroying about one-third of the City of London. Remarkably, only 6-8 deaths were officially recorded.
    Where did the Great Fire start?
    Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane, in the early hours of Sunday 2 September 1666. An unextinguished oven overnight started the blaze that spread rapidly through dry wooden buildings.

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    The Human Cost — What Happened to Ordinary Londoners?

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    Why Was the Fire So Devastating? — Connected Causation