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The Great Fire of London

Streets and buildings

Most of the medieval City of London was swept away by the Great Fire. The rebuilding process took over 40 years.
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Chapter 01

What were London’s streets and houses like before the fire?

The City of London was full of narrow streets and wooden houses.
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Before the fire: a wooden tinderbox

While brick and stone houses did exist, many houses were made of wood and leaned over into the narrow streets.

Before the fire: work and home

Most people lived in the same buildings as their businesses so homes often included shops, workshops, industrial premises and stores.

Before the fire: a religious capital

Did you know? There were 109 churches in the City of London before the fire.

Chapter 02

Buildings affected in the fire

13,200 houses, four-fifths of the City of London and 436 acres were destroyed. Which important buildings were affected?
Next
2 September 1666, 2-3am

The first church, St Margaret Fish Street Hill, caught fire overnight. 87 churches were to be destroyed by the fire.

2 September 1666, 8am

Fishmongers’ Hall, next to London Bridge, became the first livery company hall to burn.

3 September 1666, after 3pm

The Royal Exchange burned.

4 September 1666, daybreak

Cheapside, one of the City of London’s most important streets, began to burn.

4 September 1666, morning

Guildhall, the centre of government in the City, caught fire.

4 September 1666, afternoon and evening

Newgate prison was badly damaged. Ludgate debtors’ prison was surrounded by flames.

4 September 1666, 8pm

A fire broke out on the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Chapter 03

Recovery and rebuilding

Once the fire was over, rebuilding seemed like the perfect opportunity to completely change street layouts. In reality a less dramatic approach was taken.
Next
13 September 1666

King Charles II said the City should be redesigned to prevent another fire - but he wanted regulations in place first.

September 1666

Many rebuilding plans were proposed but none were ever used.

8 February 1667

The First Rebuilding Act set out guidelines for how to rebuild houses.

8 May 1667

The City authorities laid down several rules for rebuilding. New houses had to be faced with brick or stone.

1669

The new Royal Exchange building opened.

1670

The Second Rebuilding Act set out guidelines for rebuilding churches and public buildings.

1670

The Guildhall was rapidly restored, although it was remodelled in 1862.

1676

Much of the rebuilding work had now been completed.

1677

The Monument was opened.

1681

A memorial plaque was set up on the house rebuilt on the site where the fire started.

1711

The new St Paul's Cathedral was formally declared complete.

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Rebuilding churches and public buildings

Government buildings, law courts, prisons, three City gates, markets and many churches needed to be rebuilt.

People donated money but the rebuilding of most public buildings was paid for by a tax on coal coming into London.

87 churches had been destroyed in the fire. The 1667 Rebuilding Act stated that only 39 churches would be rebuilt. After three years of arguing, this was raised to 51. Most were designed by architect Christopher Wren and City of London surveyor Robert Hooke. The building work took many years; one of the last churches to be completed was St Michael Cornhill in 1722.

Sir Christopher Wren’s most famous building is St Paul’s Cathedral. Construction started in 1675 and Parliament declared it finished in 1711, 45 years after the old cathedral had been destroyed.

The Royal Exchange, a luxury shopping centre and merchants’ meeting place, was rebuilt very quickly after the fire. It was designed by Edward Jerman, and opened in 1669. The current Royal Exchange is the third on the site – the second one burnt down in 1838. It was rebuilt again and opened by Queen Victoria in 1844.

A new roof was put on the Guildhall and extensive repairs were done, which took around 10 years.

The public building programme was financed by a tax on coal. The tax was set at one shilling per ton until June 1677, though in 1670 it was increased to three shillings and the term extended to 1687. After 1687 it was reduced again, and continued for another 200 years.

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