Events beyond living memory
Year 1 · History
Discover people and events, follow clues and put the past in order.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
The Great Fire of London: a Year 1 history quiz game
When did the Great Fire of London start, and where? A free KS1 history game about Pudding Lane, Samuel Pepys and St Paul’s, with a printable game sheet.
Play The Great Fire of London: a Year 1 history quiz game
Learning about events beyond living memory
In this Year 1 history collection, you can practise The Great Fire of London: a Year 1 history quiz game. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Use a simple timeline to connect people and events. Ask how we know about the past, and distinguish a source from a later retelling. A matching or ordering game helps recall; explaining causes and comparing evidence take further discussion.
Ask: “What happened before this, and what changed afterwards?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
The Great Fire of London: a Year 1 history quiz game
In September 1666 a fire started in a bakery on Pudding Lane in London. It burned for about four days and destroyed around 13,200 houses, 87 churches and the old St Paul’s Cathedral. The Great Fire of London is one of the events the National Curriculum suggests for Key Stage 1 because it is beyond living memory: nobody alive today saw it, so we learn about it from evidence such as diaries, paintings and maps.
Try an example: Where did the Great Fire of London start?
Think back to the beginning of the story. The fire started early on a Sunday morning in the king’s baker’s shop.
Show the answer
A bakery in Pudding Lane.
What to look out for
Mixing up 1666 with 1066. 1066 is the Battle of Hastings, 600 years earlier. Say “sixteen sixty-six” together and notice the three sixes.
Read the full The Great Fire of London: a Year 1 history quiz game guide
Practise away from the screen
- Read Samuel Pepys’s description of the fire in a children’s book and act out the escape on the river.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Events beyond living memory in the National Curriculum in England. The programme groups requirements by key stage; the year shown here is our suggested practice placement. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with events beyond living memory?
Start with The Great Fire of London: a Year 1 history quiz game. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This collection brings together the games currently available for this learning area. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.