The Great London Fire of 1666

Who enjoys a good fire on a cold winter morning? Or a bonfire in a backyard on a crisp autumn evening? If that’s you, then this story is not for you. This is a tale about how a fire can get quickly out of control, engulfing a large portion of one of the most preeminent cities in Europe, and redefined how London would look and grow to the city it is today.

London in the 17th century was still very much a medieval city, and the heart of the city was contained within the old Roman boundaries of the original Londinium, known as The City (Yes, really). The City, centralized in the greater area of London, contained many of the guild halls, churches (like the massive St. Paul’s Cathedral), and financial institutions pivotal to 17th century London, just as today. The fire began in a bakery near London Bridge, around 1 in the morning on Sunday, 2nd of September. The bakery, owned by a Mr. Thomas Farynor, was located on Pudding Lane, which is an amazing location for a bakery by the way. The fire could have been started by an errant spark out of Mr. Farynor’s oven, landing on some stacked fuel nearby. We only know the location and time of the fire starting, not the exact cause. The Farynor family awoke to smoke and flames, and reacting quickly – they escaped out of their upper story window, climbing on their neighbor’s roof to safety. Unfortunately, their maid perished in the fire, being too afraid to attempt an escape, the first of a surprising low casualty rate for a fire of this size (an official death toll of only 6 with 100,000 displaced).

At this time, London had no fire fighting force, so citizens themselves were expected to fight fires with equipment stored in nearby churches. In typical fires, they did this by using fire buckets and long hooks. The hooks would be used to pull down houses in the path of the fire, with the intention of creating a fire break that slowed or prevented the spread. The high winds that night caused the fire to spread quickly and out of control. The government of London however, was not concerned at this turn of events: The Lord Mayor of London, Thomas Bludworth, upon being called to the fire, proclaimed the fire “so weak a woman could piss it out.” He failed to order the use of firebreaks and then went back to bed. The famous 17th century diarist and government official, Samuel Pepys, also awoken by the alarms, but due to the fire being hundreds of yards away, also made the decision to return to bed. Waking up later, he was informed the fire had consumed the docklands around the bakery and several hundred houses, becoming a major fire and threat to the city. The docklands and wharves around the fire’s origin were filled with combustible material and goods causing the fire to grow in intensity. Pepys then took it upon himself to set out to Whitehall Palace to warn the king, King Charles II, about the fire and advise to start firebreaks. Pepys was dispatched back to the fire, and told that soldiers were on their way to assist and to inform Lord Mayor Bludworth that he was to begin the process of pulling down houses for firebreaks. The Lord Mayor claimed he already ordered firebreaks but that no one was listening, rejected the need of soldiers, and again went back to his home. The King and his brother went out to survey the damage from a barge on the River Thames, the size of the fire caused them to immediately order troops in the area and the destruction of homes for firebreaks. But, with the fire of 1666, due an unusually dry summer and high winds, the firebreaks were ineffective. The winds caused the fire to “jump” the breaks and keep spreading west.

The citizenry did their best to curb the spread of the fire, but the sheer speed of the fire caused many to simply evacuate with whatever possessions they could save instead of joining in the firefighting efforts. Soldiers located within or dispatched to London jumped into help where they could but the fire was beyond control on the first day. Many citizens fled onto barges, boats, and floats on the River Thames or fled outside the boundaries of the greater London area to safety. On the second day, widespread looting began, with the wealthy citizens being targeted as they evacuated their possessions. Pepys famously buried a wheel of parmesan cheese in his garden to keep it safe from looting. Angry and scared at the destruction the fire was causing, the citizenry also turned to attacking anyone “foreign,” such as French and Dutch people within the area. On the night of the second day, the fire was so intense, it is reported it did not get dark after sundown, and began to spread in the opposite direction towards the Tower of London, which had a large inventory of gunpowder. Sensing the danger, soldiers used the gunpowder to blow up houses around the tower of London to create a large firebreak, and luckily for London (and future tourists), this was successful. But one of London’s most iconic landmarks, St. Paul’s Cathedral, was not so lucky. The Cathedral was consumed, with the roof collapsing and extensive damage to the remainder of the building, leaving it in ruins, along with the possessions of citizens stored there for safekeeping from the fire.

Charles II placed his brother, James, in charge of firefighting efforts. James drafted in the soldiers at his disposal, along with citizens to surround and contain the fire the best they could. Unfortunately, the fire still spread west, putting the King’s residence at Whitehall Palace under threat, forcing the royal household to start packing for evacuation. Charles II himself was seen, along with James, manning water pumps and assisting citizens where they could, which went far to increase his reputation with his people, crucially at a time of low support for the monarchy. But finally, around midnight on the 3rd day, the wind changed and eased, saving London from further destruction, allowing the firefighting efforts to contain the fire by the end of the 4th day, and extinguish it on the 5th.

In the end, Thomas Bludworth was blamed for his indecisiveness and was removed as Lord Mayor. Some historians claim he is a scapegoat for a disastrous event, because without the King’s authority, if he ordered a firebreak, he would be made personally responsible to reimburse the owners of the homes destroyed to do so, explaining his reluctance to use that tactic. In total, the fire lasted for an official 5 days, September 2nd to September 6th. The fire managed to destroy 436 acres (about 15 percent of the city) of London, 13,200 homes, 87 churches (out of 109 in the city), the guildhall of London, and 52 company halls. St. Paul’s Cathedral would be rebuilt within 50 years (completed in 1711) by the famous architect, Christopher Wren. Wren and others also designed, rebuilt, or restored many buildings that still exist within the London skyline, rebuilding 52 churches and 9,000 homes, changing the City of London from a medieval city to the modern city of stone we see today.