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Year 10
Edexcel

Notting Hill - sources and historical context

I can explain the strengths and limitations of key sources for Notting Hill.

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New
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Year 10
Edexcel

Notting Hill - sources and historical context

I can explain the strengths and limitations of key sources for Notting Hill.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. What local records, including newspapers and diaries, can tell us about Notting Hill.
  2. What national records, including opinion polls and census reports, can tell about Notting Hill.
  3. Sources have different strengths and weaknesses.

Keywords

  • Source - a direct or first-hand piece of evidence from the past

  • Historical context - what is happening at the time of a historical event, possibly shaping it

  • Contemporary - from the same time as something

Common misconception

If a source has a limitation then it is not reliable or useful for a historical study.

All sources have limitations as well as strengths, which historians take account of, and does not mean that the source should not be used by a historian.

A popular archive website has a helpful collection of online sources for the Notting Hill Carnival for further study.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes a Black Power organisation which fought for the rights of black people in the UK?
Correct Answer: British Black Panthers, British black panthers, british black panthers, The British Black Panthers, British Black Panther Party
Q2.
Which word describes to free someone of a criminal charge by finding them not guilty?
Correct Answer: acquitted, Acquitted
Q3.
When did Frank Crichlow set up The Mangrove, an all-night restaurant, on All Saints Road in Notting Hill?
1955
Correct answer: 1958
1959
1960
Q4.
Which of the following black stars visited The Mangrove?
Correct answer: Diana Ross
Rhianna
Correct answer: Jimi Hendrix
Beyonce
Correct answer: Bob Marley
Q5.
Why was The Mangrove an important space for the black community of Notting Hill?
Correct answer: reminded them of home as served West Indian food
gave opportunities to improve police relations as they were regular customers
Correct answer: offered a safe sanctuary from racism and discrimination
Correct answer: customers could hear about jobs and get help finding suitable accommodation
Q6.
What were the consequences of the Mangrove Nine's trial?
Correct answer: exposed the racist attitudes that Caribbean migrants faced to a wide audience
Correct answer: the judge said the Met had acted with prejudice against the black community
Correct answer: five of the Nine were acquitted on inciting riot charges
all of the Nine were acquitted on inciting riot charges
the judge said the Met had not acted with prejudice against the black community

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which keywird describes what is happening at the time of a historical event, possibly shaping it?
Correct Answer: historical context, Historical context, Historical Context
Q2.
Complete the sentence: have different strengths and weaknesses.
Correct Answer: Sources, sources
Q3.
Which of these questions might a historian find the answers to using the diary of a customer from The Mangrove?
How many instances of police brutality were there daily in Notting Hill?
Correct answer: What led to the Mangrove Nine protest?
Correct answer: Why was The Mangrove important to the black community?
How many Caribbean migrants lived in Notting Hill?
Q4.
Which of the following are useful sources for a historian studying Notting Hill in the 1960s?
diaries of passengers of The Titanic
Correct answer: the West Indian Gazette
Correct answer: photographs of the Caribbean Carnival
photographs of the Great Depression
Correct answer: diaries of attendees of shebeens and The Mangrove
Q5.
Match the statements about the West Indian Gazette to whether they are strengths or limitations of the source.
Correct Answer:strengths,highlights the racism within the Met; shows the migrant experience

highlights the racism within the Met; shows the migrant experience

Correct Answer:weaknesses,only covers 1958-1964; strongly influenced by communist ideology

only covers 1958-1964; strongly influenced by communist ideology

Q6.
Which of the following are local records that historians could use when studying Notting Hill in the 1960s?
British opinion polls
Correct answer: diary of a customer from The Mangrove
Correct answer: the West Indian Gazette
Correct answer: photographs of the Caribbean Carnival
census reports