Frankland tortoise monument

Churchyard gate

Stanmer Park Teacher Resources

Hidden gems Stanmer story startersLiteracy age range 5-11 Cross curricular links Geography and Local History

Learning outcomesI can

bull identify a local area and understand the changes that have occurred over time by using maps and historical photos

bull use images of places in the wider area of Brighton to inspire my creative story writing

bull make deductions and inferences from a mystery object or location in discussion with my class that give clues about its origin or purpose

bull build up a picture of Stanmer in the past and the people who lived and worked there

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

This is an indoor or outdoor based activity and you will need

bull whiteboard

bull projector

bull images to show

bull whiteboards for note taking

bull maps of Stanmer

bull pictures of features in Stanmer Park

Stanmer Park ndash whatrsquos the story

Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 2

The Stanmer estate is huge It covers 5000 acres with parkland farmland woodland and a village street

Stanmer gets its name from the stony pond (from the Anglo-Saxon words meaning stone (stan) and pond (mere) which can still be seen there today

Stanmer Park was bought by the Pelham family in 1713 The manor house was built along with landscaped gardens and a walled garden to supply the house with food

During the Victorian era Stanmer Church which is next to the original pond and a village of 18 houses were built to house the workers People still live and work at Stanmer today and the whole park is in the process of being restored

Wersquore very lucky in Brighton to have an example of a country estate which is open to visitors and still has all these original features

How to run the session INTRODUCTION OR STARTER

Start with a discussion of where Stanmer Park is Look at a selection of maps from the past and present

Lead a class discussion on geography map-reading and the distance from school to Stanmer

Share with the class a short timeline of Stanmer Park Include that it dates back to bronze age settlement right through to the country estate being built in Victorian times to a wartime tank base in WW2 and now open park enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year

Explain there are some hidden gems in Stanmer Park that we are going to explore

Visit Stanmer Learning online to find all the pupil activity sources and weblinks These pages also contain further reading and the specific National Curriculum links for the resource

Stanmer Park ndash whatrsquos the story

Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 2

The Stanmer estate is huge It covers 5000 acres with parkland farmland woodland and a village street

Stanmer gets its name from the stony pond (from the Anglo-Saxon words meaning stone (stan) and pond (mere) which can still be seen there today

Stanmer Park was bought by the Pelham family in 1713 The manor house was built along with landscaped gardens and a walled garden to supply the house with food

During the Victorian era Stanmer Church which is next to the original pond and a village of 18 houses were built to house the workers People still live and work at Stanmer today and the whole park is in the process of being restored

Wersquore very lucky in Brighton to have an example of a country estate which is open to visitors and still has all these original features

How to run the session INTRODUCTION OR STARTER

Start with a discussion of where Stanmer Park is Look at a selection of maps from the past and present

Lead a class discussion on geography map-reading and the distance from school to Stanmer

Share with the class a short timeline of Stanmer Park Include that it dates back to bronze age settlement right through to the country estate being built in Victorian times to a wartime tank base in WW2 and now open park enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year

Explain there are some hidden gems in Stanmer Park that we are going to explore

Visit Stanmer Learning online to find all the pupil activity sources and weblinks These pages also contain further reading and the specific National Curriculum links for the resource

DISCUSSION POINTS

We will find out the real stories at the end of the lesson but in the meantime we are going to use our imaginations to think about what the stories might have been behind the objects or places

Wersquoll have a chance to talk about each one and then choose one to write a story starter about

These objects may have come from any time in the last 5000 years

Think about the following

bull who made them and why

bull whatrsquos the story

Main activityHIDDEN GEM IMAGES

1 Water catcher

2 Wooden wheel

3 Buckle on the church door

4 Tortoise monument

5 Carved badger

6 Palm house

7 Woodland shelter

8 Orangery

9 Gravestones

Display the images on the board or share printouts for use on tables Pupils discuss in pairs what the story might have been and then gather ideas and record them on the whiteboard Share a few ideas with the class and repeat for two or three images Show all the images again and point out key details you all notice

Then ask pupils to choose one image they will use as a story starter Begin as a class to model this using one of the images to brainstorm powerful vocabulary as a class mind-map or on individual whiteboards

Discuss potential story openings for examplebull dramatic bull engagingbull unusual bull going straight into the actionbull describing an object in detailbull mysterious first sentencebull a question or statement

Pupils then take an image for themselves and are challenged to write the first paragraph of their story

Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 3

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO SPARK A CLASS DISCUSSION

Share excerpts of a few of the stories or just share the first lines for intrigue

Here are some questions to spark a class discussion

1 How does it capture the imagination

2 How could it be improved

3 What do you think happens next

4 What do you want to find out more about

Water catcher in the park at Stanmer

Visit Stanmer Learning online to find all the pupil activity sources and weblinks These pages also contain further reading and the specific National Curriculum links for the resource

Hidden gems Stanmer story starters page 4

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The real storiesNow letrsquos find out about the real stories behind each image Teachers ensure plenty of time for this section Teachers ndash you will need to refer to

the online version for the links and instructions to explain each resource

The disused orangery Adapting the sessionFOR THOSE THAT NEED MORE SUPPORTFor lower ability or younger childrenbull use fewer story startersbull model one story starter togetherbull allow children to work in pairs in thinking about

their story startbull provide vocabulary sheets

FOR THOSE THAT NEED A CHALLENGEFor higher ability or older childrenbull ask children to write in the style of a particular

author or as if they are writing a historical story start - for example in the style of CS Lewis

Homework ideasRESEARCHAsk children to research another local area or park and see what they can find out about the lsquohidden gemsrsquo thereIdeas could includebull the Chattri bull Royal Pavilionbull Brighton Pier bull Preston Park and Manor

OUTDOOR LEARNINGCan children use natural materials to create their own natural sculpture or den in their garden or local woodland Be careful not to damage anything if you do this

Useful links amp further readingbull Pictures of Stanmer from the 1970s

-1990s wwwbevendeanhistoryorgukbeyondstanmer_conservation_areahtml

bull History of Stanmer - shows the Pelham crest with pelicans wwwbritish-historyacukvchsussexvol7pp238-240

bull Ten things you didnrsquot know about Stanmer Park wwwthearguscouknews10968575ten-things-you-didnt-know-about-stanmer-park

bull Teacher info about the Frankland monument wwwpublicsculpturesofsussexcoukobjectid=7

bull Stanmerrsquos Historical Treasure Trove by Anooshka Rawden SDNPA wwwbrighton-hovegovuksitesdefaultfilesmigratedarticleinlineStanmer20history20and20heritage20item20SDNPA20for20web20Oct2019pdf

bull Stanmer Estate - History amp Heritage by Brighton amp Hove City Council wwwbrighton-hovegovukcontentleisure-and-librariesparks-and-green-spacesstanmer-estate-history-and-heritage

bull The History of Stanmer Park by My Brighton and Hove wwwmybrightonandhoveorgukplacesplaceparkstanmerstanmer-park~text=Stanmer20House20was20built20inoften20used20for20artillery20practice

bull Stanmer Restoration project - info for teachers video link httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=o4n8_h6AYqc

bull Amateur video walking tour of Stanmer httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=54ZVPGU5AqU

bull The Preston Park pet cemetery - a childrsquos tour httpswwwmybrightonandhoveorgukplacesplacelandpreston-manorpets-graveyard-at-preston-manor