London Fire Of 1666 Essay, Research Paper

On Sunday, 2 September 1666, the destruction of London began. An area one and a half miles by half a mile was in ashes. About 87 churches and 13,200 houses were destroyed and amazingly only six people have been known to have died.

The fire began in the house and shop of Thomas Farynor, the King’s baker. His assistant was awaken by the house full of smoke and people began to escape. All were successful except for a maid who was scared to go over the roof, she stayed and was the first victim of the fire.

The fire from the burning home fell on to the Church of St. Margaret. It spread down the street which was Pudding Lane. By 8am, about six hours after the fire started it was halfway across old London Bridge.

There wasn t a lot that the fire department can do to fight the fire. As the fire continued rapidly, so did the efforts to contain it. That night, the inn where Shakespeare had often stayed, was destroyed by the fire. For three more days it burned and destroyed, before it was stoped at Temple Church near Holborn Bridge. Then, as the real danger stopped people thought, the fire came into life again and was to continue toward Westminster. Luckily, the Duke of York managed to prevent it from moving on by ordering the destruction of the Paper House to break its path.

The devastation caused by the fire lasted for many years. Though casualties were minimal, the city was destroyed, and they were scared. The Great Fire of London that swept through the City left its Cathedral completely beyond restoration. It was London’s second major disaster in the range of a year. 75,000 citizens having already died from The Great Plague of 1665, the fire that followed virtually destroyed the old city after burning out of control for five days. The spot where the fire began is marked by a monument to the east of the Cathedral in the City of London. The Monument, standing 203 feet high can be visited from Monument Underground Station.