Lesson plan

Hamleys

Hamleys of London Limited, trading as Hamleys, is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's West End in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors, with more than 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It receives around five million visitors each year, and is especially busy at Christmas. The chain has 11 outlets in the United Kingdom and also has more than 90 franchises worldwide. Hamleys became famous in the early Victorian era, with royalty among its customers. The store was granted its first royal warrant from Queen Mary in 1938. It held a Royal Warrant from Elizabeth II from 1955 to 2022 (her death).

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Article summary

Hamleys of London Limited, trading as Hamleys, is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's West End in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors, with more than 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It receives around five million visitors each year, and is especially busy at Christmas. The chain has 11 outlets in the United Kingdom and also has more than 90 franchises worldwide. Hamleys became famous in the early Victorian era, with royalty among its customers. The store was granted its first royal warrant from Queen Mary in 1938. It held a Royal Warrant from Elizabeth II from 1955 to 2022 (her death).

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1760 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of foundation: 1685 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1760". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of foundation is "1685". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371442645

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.