We had a fantastic time visiting Shire Hall today and learning all about the great fire of Dorchester. Take a look at all of our pictures to see what we got up to!
We visited the courtroom were people were tried and punished for their crimes. It was great fun getting to try on some of the hats. We learnt about the sorts of things people in 1613, the year of the great fire of Dorchester, would use for writing, eating and drinking.We looked at a map of Dorchester from 1613 and found key places of interest at the time, including the towns water pump and river. We also looked at a variety of different candles as the fire started in a candle-makers workshop. We learnt that some candles were made from animal fat and some from bees wax. Later on we got to re-enact what it might have been like to put the fire out. Then we made a traditional toy that children in 1613 might’ve played with, a peg doll. We visited the basement tunnels and took a tour around the narrow corridors where the prisoners of Dorchester would’ve carried the barrels of gunpowder.
We loved visiting Shire Hall today and can’t wait to compare it to our learning about the Great Fire of London.
Thank you to all of our helpers who came on the trip.
