The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London began on Sunday 2nd September 1666, exactly 346 years ago, at the bakery of Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane, London. The fire spread swiftly through West London burning 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and St Paul’s Cathedral.

It is thought that the Fire destroyed the homes of 70,000 out of the 80,000 people living in London at the time. Miraculously only six deaths are recorded, however  it is thought that there were many that went undocumented. The death toll is still incredibly small, considering the extent of the damage.

The blaze lasted for two days and was stopped by two factors; the strong eastern winds died down, and the Tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create firebreaks to stop the fire from spreading.

After the Great Fire there was much poverty and destitution because of the amount of damage to personal and state property. It is thought that the Fire of London contributed to the end of The Great Plague, as rats and fleas carrying the diseases were burned along with the houses in which they habited.

All part of our British history.

Image Credit: Dave Hogg