Intense Conflagration of the Great Fire of London: Its Most Destructive Moments Revealed
In the heart of September 1666, London, the bustling capital and one of the largest cities in Europe, was struck by a calamity that would change its landscape forever. The Great Fire of London, ignited on the 1st of September, was a destructive force that consumed the city for four days.
The fire started in a bakery owned by Thomas Farriner, situated in Pudding Lane in the City of London. Farriner, a well-known figure in his early 50s, holding the office of Conduct of the King's Bakehouse and selling bread and hardtack to the Royal Navy, was woken by thick, choking smoke. Despite his best efforts to extinguish the fire, it quickly spread, and the maidservant, fearing falling, refused to escape and tragically perished as the house was consumed by the flames, marking the first victim of the Great Fire.
As the fire raged on, London's narrow and crowded streets, easily clogged by traffic, and houses with overhanging upper floors known as jetties, some of which met across the street, exacerbated the fire risk. Despite building with wood and thatch being prohibited for centuries, it was widely flouted, making overcrowding worse.
The character of London was retained due to the old and the new jostling for space after the Great Fire. The fire consumed 13,500 houses, 86 or 87 parish churches, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, St Paul's Cathedral, Bridewell Palace, the General Letter Office, and three of the City's western gates, Ludgate, Newgate, and Aldersgate.
The most destructive day of the Great Fire was on the 4th of September. Sir Thomas Bloodworth, the Lord Mayor of London during the fire, hesitated to destroy houses to create firebreaks, allowing the fire to spread uncontrollably. It was only on Wednesday 5 September that the fire breaks began to blunt its force.
The Great Fire had a profound impact on London's rebuilding. Christopher Wren, renowned for designing 51 new churches and the breathtaking St Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire, played a significant role in shaping the city's new architectural landscape. Nicholas Barbon also contributed to the city's redevelopment by building whole streets and squares along the Strand, in Bloomsbury, St Giles, and Holborn.
By 1671, most private rebuilding was complete. The fire burned all through Sunday and Monday, and it was so intense that it created its own weather. Samuel Pepys, a contemporary of the time, described the sight of the burning city as "the saddest sight of desolation that I ever saw."
Officially, only six or eight deaths were recorded during the Great Fire, but some historians suggest it was fewer than 100, while others suggest several thousands. Regardless of the exact number, the Great Fire of London left an indelible mark on the city's history and its people.
