Present
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.
Read First Chapter
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.
Next
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.

Back
Back to start

You have reached the end of the story: Streets and buildings

Want to learn more? Choose another story
The fire
People’s lives
Society and politics
cross

What were London’s buildings like before the fire?

London was full of narrow streets and wooden houses. For around 60 years, monarchs had attempted to make people build houses in brick instead, to create a more attractive city that was less of a fire risk.

Increasing numbers of modern brick houses were being built, but the City of London still had many old timber-framed houses. These had upper floors called ‘jetties’ that leant outwards, narrowing the streets. This made it easy for fires to spread, and the narrow streets often prevented firefighters and their equipment reaching fires.

Four oak brackets
Brackets were used to support overhanging upper storeys.
Jettied wooden houses
These houses are like those in the City of London in 1666.

London’s streets were full of overhanging signs for shops, taverns and houses. They were an inconvenience for people on horseback, or for carts and carriages, especially in narrow lanes. Until the 1760s, houses did not have numbers so people identified their homes with a sign.

Leather bottle sign
Hanging signs like this were common on pre-fire streets.

There were many industries throughout the City of London that depended on fire, such as soap-boiling, baking, dyeing, brewing and metalworking. People lived above and around these businesses, so living quarters mingled with industry.

According to John Evelyn’s 1661 publication Fumifugium, London’s air was full of smoke. People’s clothes and houses and even the rain turned black from soot. He argued some industries should move outside London to keep the air clean. This would also have reduced the risk of serious fires.

Evelyn claimed:

It is this horrid smoke which obscures our churches, and makes our palaces look old, which fouls our clothes, and corrupts the waters, so as the very rain…spots and contaminates whatsoever is exposed to it.

It is often believed that thatched roofs made the fire worse, but this is a myth. Thatched roofs (which are made from reeds or straw) had already been banned in the City of London for over 450 years after a terrible fire in 1212.

back cross