extent of great fire of london

Throughout 1667 people cleared rubble and surveyed the burnt area. Until recently a museum, Prince Henry's Room is a striking timber building sitting above the entrance to Inner Temple Lane. As night came, there was no darkness to be had in the roaring, spitting, cracking hell of that terrible evening. Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2009. Its spread was aided by the fact that the summer had been very dry; furthermore, most houses in London had frames made of timber. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to historian Rebecca Rideal, author of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire, whose research has drawn on little-known sources to set the Great Fire of London in the broader context of the political, social and economic events of the time. The episode begins in the present at a barbecue where we meet a rat called Maureen. ), Why were the houses so close together? The English passed the first Navigation Acts to restrict trade within their empire, while the Dutch attempted to block English access to the East Indies. To prevent a potential upheaval, Charles II called General George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, back from his command of the English fleet to address the situation in the capital. This plot was suppressed in April 1666, and all the conspirators were executed for treason. The Great Fire of London. [65] The fire also increased tensions between the Anglican establishment and religious nonconformists. Why did The Great Fire of London happen? De Krey, Gary Stuart. London had been Englands principal trading and manufacturing hub, and its destruction diminished the governments tax revenues just as its expenses were increasing. It began on 2 September 1666 and lasted just under five days. As one of the most famous fires in history, the Great Fire of 1666 swept through the capital, leaving a trail of devastation and desperate Londoners behind it. As John Miller writes in his biography of Charles II, to the people of England, Catholicism was not just another religion, but the quintessence of evil and degeneracy.[18] Charles IIs decision to pursue a policy of repression towards religious dissenters, combined with the presence of Catholics in his family, greatly increased unrest in England in the lead up to the fire. Religious tensions were high after the English Civil Wars and the Restoration.England was at war with France and the Netherlands, and in 1665 the Great Plague had killed about 15% of the city's population. It was such a traumatic experience for the city that it still lingers in the historical imagination. [50] This proved detrimental to the ongoing English war effort against the Dutch Republic and France. The causes of The Great Fire of London in 1666. Download / print the notes including activities templates and worksheets (pdf), Be the news reporter interview a character and find out what happened! If you think we've missed any survivors of the Great Fire of London then please let us know! Watch the clip below to see what it would have looked like. The King offered troops and commanded Pepys to tell the Lord Mayor to pull down houses to make fire breaks as Pepys advised. Despite his admirable conduct during the fire, his protection of foreigners would be used as evidence against him during the Exclusion Crisis over a decade later. They escaped out of the upper floor window although their maid, too frightened to leave, perished. [31] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 16. Charles took the decision to send in troops to create a firebreak. [27] At the outset of hostilities, Parliament voted Charles II 2,500,000 to finance the war effort. 1. Ask children where they have experienced fires and flames. We asked three Londoners of Indo-Caribbean descent about their family stories as part of the Windrush generation. Play our quiz to find out! With many people now homeless and mobs roaming the streets, there was major potential for social unrest. After London's Great Fire - 350 years ago this year - there were radical plans to transform the city. The King and his brother James, Duke of York, surveyed the damage from a barge on the Thames. It may have been caused by a spark from his oven falling onto a pile of fuel nearby. It was once the chapel of Ely Palace, a massive estate that housed the Bishops of Ely from 1290 to 1772. [70] However, officials within the government itself actually increased political tensions in the aftermath of the disaster, as tactless courtiers rejoiced at the Fire, claiming that the city would now be less able to resist the kings will.[71] These careless remarks demonstrated that the fire had not destroyed the existing tensions between the King and his capital. Consolidate pupils' learning about The Great Fire of London with these three catchy songs from our Music pages. Keeble, N. H. The Restoration: England in the 1660s. It was very crowded. Religious tensions in England would continue unabated for the rest of Charles IIs reign and beyond. BBC Teach > Secondary Resources > KS3 History / GCSE History, When the Great Fire of London broke out in 1666, it was so large the smoke could be seen in Oxford. Getty Images Looting went on as the wealthy struggled through the streets with all their earthly possessions. Before the slum clearances of the late 19th century there would have been a series of similar pre-Great Fire buildings lining the Strand. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Dr. Kirk Willis, Tracy Barnett, Noah Coriell, and Julie List for their assistance in researching and editing this paper. ), Why was the Lord Mayor not concerned about the fire? Before we look at where these resilient old buildings are located, it's useful to see how much of London the Great Fire actually destroyed. Was it because of the significant challenge it posed to authorities and residents as they sought to bring it under control? Maureen then takes us back through time to introduce one of her ancestors, a rat living in London in 1666 at the time of The Great Fire of London. At the beginning of September 1666, the main Dutch fleet remained undefeated and the war continued, putting an ever-increasing strain on the royal treasury. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. We discover what happened to the city after The Fire, the role of Christopher Wren in rebuilding the city and how we remember The Fire today. The results were noticeable: '(London) is not only the finest, but the most healthy city in the world', said one proud Londoner. An account of him and the King manning the pumps for hours up to their ankles in water did much to endear them to the people. Charles II: the Star King. Life in the busy streets of London before The Great Fire. Another problem Charles II struggled with throughout his reign was finding the money to finance his administration. . The Dutch, the French and anyone who appeared foreign were attacked in the streets or thrown into jail (sometimes for their own protection from the mob). Find out more about the vessels and people that helped to shape modern Britain, Search our online database and exploreour objects, paintings, archives and library collectionsfrom home, Come behind the scenes at our state-of-the-art conservation studio, Visit the world's largest maritime library and archive collection at the National Maritime Museum, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 shortlist revealed, A Sea of Drawings: the art of the Van de Veldes, The Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre. They believed Londons medieval structure with timber fronted buildings, network of alleyways and open sewers no longer reflected the ideals of the age. Some streets were widened and two new streets were created. Diarist Samuel . Although the Great Fire of London destroyed over 13,000 houses, almost 90 churches and even the mighty St Pauls Cathedral, a handful of survivors managed to escape the flames and can still be seen to this day. Take a closer look with the unique Van de Velde drawings collection, The Empire Windrush wasn't the only ship to carry Caribbean passengers to the UK. The execution of Charles I by the victorious Parliamentary Army cast a long shadow over his sons reign. Public buildings, like churches, were paid for with money from a new coal tax. [26] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 39. An interactive article looking at why we light Guy Fawkes effigies on bonfires on November 5th. [15] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 182. . It had even spread beyond the city walls to the west, causing many to fear that the fire would reach the Palace of Whitehall. [45] Walter George Bell, The Great Fire of London in 1666 (London: Bracken Books, 1994), 320. Monck was a very popular figure because of his role in restoring the monarchy and his conduct in government ever since, so much so that Hanson describes him as a man who commanded far greater public confidence and respect than [the King] himself.[69] Although Moncks presence did help to calm potential unrest, it seemed unnecessary in the days following the fire, as no major revolts against the government took place. The Great Fire of London began before dawn on Sunday, 2nd September 1666 and raged for four days, in the course of which the historic medieval city known to Chaucer and Shakespeare vanished. Until then, the fun continues at our Docklands museum! As Parliament moved to permanently abolish some of the revenue sources abused by Charles I, such as the Court of Wards, it attempted to compensate for their loss by providing Charles II with new tax grants to fund his government. How long do you think it lasted? London's burning. [71] John Miller, Charles II (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991), 122. 'London was but is no more.' [1] John Miller, Charles II (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991), 46-47. Despite their efforts, the fire continued to spread and by the evening of Tuesday 4th September the unthinkable happened. Despite the lack of an open rebellion against the King, the Great Fire of London did contribute to an increase in the religious and political tensions that had been plaguing Charles II since the earliest days of his reign. Pupils will learn about the causes of The Fire, meet key individuals involved and witness how Londoners responded to The Fire. St. Pauls Cathedral was surrounded by fire by 9 p.m. the roof and the walls had collapsed, setting fire to the belongings piled inside for safekeeping. As a result, the fires damage was far more extensive than the list of properties burned, because many of these issues would continue to plague Charles II for the remainder of his reign. Leasor, James. The mayor, Thomas Bludworth, complained, 'the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it.' Had Wrens plans for the whole city been realised, the look of London would be very different. [7] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 27. What wasnt moved was often buried, Samuel Pepys famously buried a wheel of Parmesan cheese in his garden. [34] By Tuesday, September 4, the fire had encompassed almost the entire city of London. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007. - 2. In the first week of September 1666, the city was almost completely gutted by flames. B. Tauris, 2016. The legacy of the English Civil War, and the political tensions associated with it, weighed on Charles IIs mind as the fire died down. [60] In the weeks after the fire, many homeless residents left the city for the towns surrounding it, and the government considered it critical to begin reconstruction before the population of London dispersed to such an extent that it would never come back.[61] In February 1667, Parliament partially remedied this problem when it passed An Act for Rebuilding the City of London, which enshrined the new building regulations in law and imposed a tax on coal shipped into London. Over the next four days, fire spread to the very edges of the City of London. The Seven Stars was located just beyond the western limit of the Great Fire and therefore managed to escape with just a scorch mark or two. Although a church has stood on this site since 675, the current exterior of All Hallows-by-the-Tower dates back to 1658 when it was rebuilt following a nearby explosion. One-third of London was destroyed and about 100,000 people were made homeless. The white area indicates the extent of the fire. Charles II. [23] In a diary entry written on October 19, 1662, Samuel Pepys recalled with regret that the news of the selling of Dunkirk is taken so generally ill.[24]. Traditionally, the reigning monarch was not even allowed to enter the city walls unless he received permission from the Lord Mayor and the leaders of the Corporation of London. Great Fire of London. The oldest house in the City, built between 1597 - 1614. But as Londons medieval heart lay smouldering, some saw a golden opportunity to break with the past and create a modern, magnificent city. The Great Fire of London was a major humanitarian disaster. Great Britain, Public Records Office. Consequently houses were very close together. 5621230. [68] John Miller, Charles II (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991), 139. Seaward, Paul. Why do we call the Great Fire of London in 1666 "great"? Due to its historic value it was subsequently restored, and is now a listed building and home to the Institute of Actuaries. - including 'London's burning!' [66] This religious tension was inextricably linked to political tensions because of the sympathy many nonconformists harbored for the Good Old Cause. According to Adrian Tinniswood, by staying behind they earned the respect of Londoners.[15] The increasing prestige of religious nonconformists in London made Charles IIs government uneasy. Forgeng, Jeffrey L. Daily Life in Stuart England. [37] James personally visited each station to manage the firefighting effort, and his conduct during the fire was rewarded with the greatest praise, for his ability to keep his head in a crisis [and] his determination to stop the fire.[38] Eventually the flames were contained, and, as the wind died down, the flames died down with it. Built in the mid-16th century and featured in Charles Dickens' 'The Old Curiosity Shop', this ancient building was actually located quite a few streets away from the Great Fire's limits but is included in our list due to its quaint facade and literary connection! Great Fire of London Coordinates: 51.51N 0.09W The Great Fire of London, depicted by an unknown painter (1675), as it would have appeared from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September 1666. Tinniswood, Adrian. The fire also served to exacerbate existing religious and political tensions. ), Why did fire spread so quickly? Beyond being a humanitarian disaster, the fire exacerbated many problems the King was already struggling to solve. By the time it was over four days later, much of the medieval city lay in smoking ruins. What was the impact on London? Maureen then takes us back through time to introduce one of her. Despite their efforts, the fire continued to spread and by the evening of Tuesday 4th September the unthinkable happened. Why did The Great Fire happen? Houses now had to be faced in brick instead of wood. How much do you know about Docklands history? The fire broke out during a time of great upheaval in Britain, with old certainties shaken by the English Civil War. He had started having houses pulled down or so he claimed but the fire was still spreading and no one was listening to him. What happened during The Great Fire?3. [57] On July 12, 1667, Samuel Pepys commented on these suggestions by saying, the design is to have a land-army, and so to make the government like that of France, but our princes have not brains, or at least care and forecast enough to do that.[58] As rumors of this plan spread, they aroused stern opposition and discontent from Parliament and the public. Across London explosions could be heard as the buildings near the gunpowder stores at the Tower were blown up. On 2 September 1666, an event started that would change the face of London. The cost of a house was based on the size of its plot, so the overhang was a way of gaining more space without paying for it. Wren would create the first dome to be seen in London. [52] With England in dire straits, peace negotiations soon began. James was seen almost everywhere fighting the fire. [46] Adrian Tinniswood writes that by Tuesday, September 4, Any foreigners stupid enough to walk out on the streets of London were in more danger from the mob than the flames.[47] The Duke of York and his royal soldiers attempted to protect innocent foreigners from mob violence, and they managed to save several from lynchings. Charles II and the Politics of Access. One-third of London was destroyed and about 100,000 people were made homeless. By far the most dangerous issue facing Charles IIs government was the legacy of the Civil War that ravaged England two decades prior. Was this God's judgment on wicked King Charles II? Penguin Books, 2018. Unfortunately it was damaged by an IRA attack in 1992 which destroyed its fantastic medieval stained-glass windows. Wharncliffe Books, 2009. Thomas Farriner and his family had to climb out of an upstairs window and onto their neighbour's roof to escape the fire in their bakery. [63] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 208. Londoners who had lost their homes, and had no relatives or friends to help them, camped out on open spaces in and around London. On January 1, 1661, when a captured rebel was interrogated, he said that he and others would spend their last blood before the King should come into England.[5]. sung as a round. There is also a fantastic 7th century Saxon arch with recycled Roman tiles in the church, some of the oldest surviving stonework in London. Surprisingly, only six poor souls are known to have died. Was it because of the significant challenge it posed to authorities and residents as they sought to bring it under control? The fire started at 1am on Sunday morning in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane. He was innocent, however. This paper examines how the Great Fire of London affected, and was affected by, the many political and social issues that existed in England at the time. We have used Wenceslaus Hollars famous map of 1666 as our main source. It raged for four days, destroying 80 per cent of the city. Presumably surviving the Great Fire of London through its sturdy stone structure, St Andrew Undershaft also avoided any significant bomb damage during World War Two. . [41] In addition, over 13,200 houses had been destroyed, and between 70,000 and 80,000 people were now homeless. . The fire was not an isolated incident. Parliament, however, was averse to dissenters, and the bill was defeated. It began on 2 September 1666 and lasted just under five days. A very strong easterly wind blew the fire from house to house in the narrow streets. James quickly ordered royal troops into the city, authorized the demolition of property to prevent the fires spread, and set up fire stations around the city that were tasked with stopping the blaze. With the embers still burning, London's intellectuals finalised their plans for the city. The fire continued . Should Thomas Farriner have been punished? The 2 September 2016 marks 350 years since the start of the Great Fire of London, which changed the skyline of the capital city forever. Just 60-150mm tall, these tiny baby bottles provide a rare insight into the culinary world of Roman infants and toddlers. As a result, soon many began to suspect that the Dutch and French residents of the city had started the fire purposefully as revenge for the burning of West-Terschelling. The Kings City: a History of London during the Restoration: the City That Transformed a Nation. The two buildings adjacent to the pub are also pre-1666 survivors. They began making plans for a revolutionary new London. Dates are not vital for teaching chronology at KS1, but by using artefacts we can help children understand what life was like at this time. Nevertheless, the City of London was little more than a smouldering heap. It was the calamity of the age, but the smouldering hole at the heart of the city would prove to be a huge inspiration. The Great Fire broke out from a baker's house in Pudding Lane. Sadly for the men who dreamt of progress, Wren's brave new city was rejected. One of London's greatest buildings was in ruins. Every parish kept resources for this in their churches and people worked together to put out fires as they happened.). [65] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 264-265. Closely associated with the legacy of the English Civil war was the problem posed by religious dissenters. 41 Cloth Fair is the oldest house in the City of London and survived the Great Fire of London in. But more Great stuff was to come. [51] John Miller, Charles II (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991), 123. The Great Fire of London burned day and night for almost four days in 1666 until only a tiny fraction of the City remained. Hanson, Neil. On Sunday, September 2, 1666, in the early hours of the morning, a fire broke out in a bakery on Pudding Lane in southeastern London. [38] Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London (New York: Riverhead Books, 2004), 81. Plans were drawn up to bring a new order of beauty to London. The fire managed not only to spread where the wind blew it, but even in the opposite direction and threatened to bear down on huge gunpowder stores by the Tower of London. a New and Complete Transcription, ed. Early on 2 September 1666, a fire started at a bakery in London, the capital city of England. Read about our approach to external linking. Edited by Mary Anne Everett Green. Overall, the Great Fire of London severely hindered the success of Charles IIs reign. Why not step into the bakery of one Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane? [55] Public animosity was so great that, in the following months, Parliament voted to impeach Clarendon and to banish him from England in perpetuity.[56]. [53] This defeat provoked public anger about how poorly the war effort was being managed. For the first several years of Charles IIs reign, he constantly struggled to find sufficient revenue. [10] John Miller, Charles II (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1991), 50. a New and Complete Transcription, ed. They used buckets of water, water squirts and fire hooks. The fire provided a rare chance to create a modern capital. How did they put it out? London in 1666 In 1666, fires in London were quite common.

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