The most destructive fire in London’s history took place between Sunday, Sept. 2 and Thursday, Sept. 5, 1666. The Great London Fire moved quickly through the central part of the city. By the time the flames were extinguished, it was believed to have consumed 87 parish churches and more than 13,200 homes, which represented more than 90 percent of the city’s 80,000 residents at the time.

It also destroyed many larger buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Royal Exchange Guildhall. It also damaged much of the older city located inside the original Roman city wall.

Strangely, it had a low official death toll. While the Great Fire of London in 1212 (also called the Great Fire of Suthwark) was believed to have killed as many as 3,000 souls, the 1616 conflagration was reported to have only six verified deaths.

(Modern researchers say the official death count is likely incorrect, and thousands were simply not counted or reported).

ITS CAUSE AND SPREAD

Unlike some historical civic fires which may have uncertain origins, the cause of the Great London Fire has been narrowed down to one individual.

According to the London Fire Brigade,  this person was Thomas Farynor/Farriner, one of the king’s bakers who owned a shop on Pudding Lane, just north of the London Bridge.

He later told investigators that a kitchen fire had started in his oven earlier on Sunday, but he believed he had extinguished it, so he went to bed.

Unfortunately the fire wasn’t fully out, and sparks fell out of the oven and onto flour sacks which caught fire.

At around 1 a.m., the shop was in flames and the blaze was jumping to other buildings along Pudding Lane.

A strong wind from the east caused the fire to spread even further, moving down Fish Hill and toward the River Thames. Mr. and Mrs. Farynor were able to escape but their maid was one of the first casualties.

Once the fire reached many of the river warehouses, it grew in strength due to plenty of combustible items like oil and tallow, and kept on spreading into town.  

The fire continued to spread on Monday and Tuesday, and many efforts to extinguish it failed. Gunpowder barrels were eventually used to keep the fire in certain areas where it could be battled.

Reports of the blaze showed that everyone chipped in, including King Charles II, who was seen battling the f ire.

Much of the first-hand account of the f ire was shared by Samuel Pepys, a Clerk in the Royal Navy, who provided detailed diary entries, and also suggested that the city use hooks to knock down buildings in the fire’s path before the fire could reach them.

The king endorsed this plan, requiring residents or business owners to quickly remove their belongings.  

(Pepys is the subject of our ‘Great Figures Of British History’ feature later in this issue).

PRE-FIRE CONDITIONS IN LONDON

Looking at the Great London Fire through 21st century eyes, especially with regards to fire prevention techniques, we can see that there were plenty of risk factors in place which caused a small bakery blaze to spread so rapidly.

One was the fact that it was a particularly dry summer and drought conditions had been declared.

Wood was an especially common building material.

It was also common for the wood used in homes and shops to be covered in pitch and then thatch used for roofing material.

All of these things would increase the f ire risk – and how fast it can spread.

At the time, London had about 350,000 residents and was considered one of the largest populations in Europe. It was also an especially dense city with many homes close to one another, with not a lot of modern concepts like spaces between buildings or fire breaks.

Home interiors also had things like bedding made from straw, candles for illumination and open flames for kitchen cooking.

Many people also owned horses, so there was also plenty of hay and straw around.

Fire control was also minimal, by today’s standards at least. Although firefighters may have tried to fill their water buckets from the river, they mostly relied on tools like axes.

AFTER THE FIRE

Once the fire was confirmed to be fully out, city officials and King Charles II began to figure out the next steps.

King Charles first declared a day of fasting on Oct. 10 and ordered the Lord Mayor of London to support collections for f ire victims. He ordered the creation of a monument, and also said he wanted a better-designed London.  

Plans were submitted by Robert Hooke, Christopher Wren and John Evelyn. King Charles II ended up using elements of all three but also kept some of the city’s original shape.

Christopher Wren’s plan included the design of a new St. Paul’s Cathedral and a group of surrounding churches.

Wren ended up designing 53 churches in the city along with several secular buildings.

He’s considered one of the country’s greatest architects and later went onto found the Royal Society.

Rebuilding was slow, however.

Many Londoners who fled during the f ire didn’t return, and some of the temporary buildings were unsafe and had rampant disease. Many deaths were reported that winter.

Historic records showed it took about 30 years for the city to be rebuilt.

The fire did lead to more awareness of prevention techniques, and many business owners pledged money for the creation of the city’s first fire insurance company and a collective f ire brigade.