The Great Fire of 1666
London before the Great Fire.
The picture to the left is the only picture of London before the great fire of 1666, this painting resides in the Museum of London, which I had the opportunity to visit while on my Study Abroad in London. The Great Fire is one of London's most famous disasters, it was ignited in Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane at 1:00am on Sunday September 2, 1666. In the span of five days the fire destroyed 4/5 of the city, thousands lost their homes. Because London was very dry after a long hot summer the fire quickly spread to waterhouses by the Thames River. A potent easterly wind blew the fire from house to house, in the narrow streets. People concentrated more on escaping the fast moving fire rather than fighting it.
In 1666 London didn't have a fire brigade people were supposed to work together to fight fires. Each London parish had it's own fire-fighting equipment, but before the Great Fire it was often poorly looked after. After the fire London was split into four areas, each had 800 buckets and 50 ladders, with two main squirts per parish. They even gave the 12 main City guilds a fire engine each. By the night on Tuesday September 4, the wind had died down, and by the morning of Thursday September 6 the fire was mostly out. Some places in the city still smouldered for months after.
This great fire burned 436 acres, about 13,200 houses were lost, 87 of the 109 churches in the area burned to the ground, only 51 of those churches were rebuilt and about 1,900 homes. Fewer than ten deaths are recorded, but at least 100,000 were homeless, some of these people camped outside London for the winter and some left never to return. Many who depended on the city for trade lost everything, some were imprisioned for not paying their debts. This fire cost more than 10 million Pounds in damages today that is the equivalent of 16 million US dollars.
Who's to blame for this disaster? Thomas Farriner says it's not his fault; it's believed he forgot to put the fire in the oven out before leaving for the night. Prodestants thought it was the Catholics plot to destroy, Catholics thought is was the sins of the Londeners, so God was punishing them all. Robert Hubert a poor Frenchman confessed to starting the fire, he was hanged on October 27, 1666, only to have it discovered later that he didn't come to London until after the fire was already out. In January 1667 the King's council ruled the fire to be an accident. Nothing in London's history destroyed the city this fast it only took a mere five days to bring a city to it's knees. Not even the bombs in World War II hurt the city this much or with such a great impact.
In 1666 London didn't have a fire brigade people were supposed to work together to fight fires. Each London parish had it's own fire-fighting equipment, but before the Great Fire it was often poorly looked after. After the fire London was split into four areas, each had 800 buckets and 50 ladders, with two main squirts per parish. They even gave the 12 main City guilds a fire engine each. By the night on Tuesday September 4, the wind had died down, and by the morning of Thursday September 6 the fire was mostly out. Some places in the city still smouldered for months after.
This great fire burned 436 acres, about 13,200 houses were lost, 87 of the 109 churches in the area burned to the ground, only 51 of those churches were rebuilt and about 1,900 homes. Fewer than ten deaths are recorded, but at least 100,000 were homeless, some of these people camped outside London for the winter and some left never to return. Many who depended on the city for trade lost everything, some were imprisioned for not paying their debts. This fire cost more than 10 million Pounds in damages today that is the equivalent of 16 million US dollars.
Who's to blame for this disaster? Thomas Farriner says it's not his fault; it's believed he forgot to put the fire in the oven out before leaving for the night. Prodestants thought it was the Catholics plot to destroy, Catholics thought is was the sins of the Londeners, so God was punishing them all. Robert Hubert a poor Frenchman confessed to starting the fire, he was hanged on October 27, 1666, only to have it discovered later that he didn't come to London until after the fire was already out. In January 1667 the King's council ruled the fire to be an accident. Nothing in London's history destroyed the city this fast it only took a mere five days to bring a city to it's knees. Not even the bombs in World War II hurt the city this much or with such a great impact.
My Thoughts On The Great Fire
London burning durning the Great Fire
While learning about the great fire earlier in the semester from my textbook I didn't find it as fascinating as I did when I was in London and I could see actual facts from the fire. I first took a great interest in the fire when I was at the Museum of London and I saw the various facts and articles pertaining to the fire. This fire almost wiped out an entire city in one clear swoop. To me that is quite impressive, sad and devastating but impressive none the less. Many people lost their homes, their businesses, and their lives were turned upside down. Those who stayed in London rebuilt or tried to rebuild the life they knew before the fire, but you can't really forget something this tragic. When I learned many didn't return to the city after the fire I pondered to myself if I was there would I leave and build a life somewhere else or would I stay and rebuild all that I lost? I think I would stay and work through the rubble like everyone else and reclaim what this fire would have taken from me. The King's Council ruled it an accident and I would agree with that, I don't think anyone is really to blame in this. Thomas Farriner should have made sure his oven was off but who in their life hasn't made a mistake like that? I forget to turn my hair straightner and curling iron off all the time, I wouldn't want the blame if I burned down the entire city of Salt Lake. Even though it would be my fault it wasn't intentional and neither was Farriner's negligence.