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The Great Fire of London

The fire

How the Great Fire started, spread and was fought.
Read First Chapter
Chapter 01

Before the Great Fire of London

Despite many previous fires and predictions of more, firefighting techniques were very basic.
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London’s fiery past

The Great Fire was not London’s first big fire.

Fighting fires in 1666

London did not have a fire brigade in 1666. How do you think fires were put out?

Predicting the fire

There had been predictions of a great fire in London. Terrifyingly, they came true.

Summer 1666

It had been a long, dry summer. Just before the fire, a storm started with high winds blowing from the east.

Chapter 02

The Great Fire begins

What at first seemed to be a small fire spread very quickly. The basic firefighting equipment, combined with other factors, meant that it raged rapidly out of control.
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Sunday 2 September 1666, around 1am

The fire started in Thomas Farriner’s bakery in Pudding Lane. How did this happen?

2 September 1666, 3am

The Lord Mayor, Thomas Bludworth, went to look at the fire. He didn’t think it looked serious, so went back to bed.

2 September 1666, early morning

Strong winds meant that the fire spread quickly, and the wooden buildings acted as tinder.

2 September 1666, between 11am - 12pm

The Lord Mayor tried to stop the blaze by pulling down houses, but the fire moved too fast.

3 September 1666, morning

The government stepped in to help tackle the fire. They set up eight bases called fire posts.

3 September 1666, during the day

The fire was successfully held back at St Dunstan-in-the-East, thanks to the efforts of a group of schoolboys.

4 September 1666, 6am

Cheapside, one of the main streets in the City of London, began to burn.

Chapter 03

The fire eases

New firefighting techniques and a change in the weather meant that the fire could gradually be brought under control.
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4 September 1666, daytime

The fire reached its peak on 4 September 1666, spreading from the Temple in the west to near the Tower of London in the east.

4 September 1666, evening

Gunpowder was used to blow up houses. It successfully stopped the fire around the Tower of London and Cripplegate.

4 September 1666, around 11pm

The wind changed direction and started to die down.

4 September 1666, night time

The fire was successfully stopped at Fetter Lane Corner, Pie Corner, Holborn Bridge and Temple.

5 September 1666, day time

Most of the remaining fires were put out. Samuel Pepys was able to walk through the smouldering ruins.

5 September 1666, night time

New fires broke out on the edge of the fire area at Temple, Shoe Lane and Cripplegate.

6 September 1666, around 5am

A final isolated fire broke out at Bishopsgate and was contained.

Chapter 04

After the fire

Although London continued to have fires, improvements to firefighting methods were slow.
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Long after the fire

London still suffered fires despite the changes that were made to the City’s streets and buildings after the Great Fire.

Later in the 17th century

Firefighting methods gradually became more sophisticated.

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Predictions of a great fire

Predictions of a great fire

People had been expecting London to burn down for years. In 1665, King Charles II wrote to the Lord Mayor warning him of the dangers of fire due to the overhanging wooden houses and narrow streets.

Long before this, prophets had been forecasting London’s doom. Religious men, Protestant and Catholic, wrote pamphlets and letters, and gave sermons preaching that God would purge London of its sins with fire. Many predictions about a fire were made through the 1600s.

Mother Shipton, a 16th century ‘witch’ from York, had apparently predicted London’s destruction. Her prophecy, printed in a book in 1641, said:

A ship come sayling up the Thames to London and the master of the ship shall weep... he shall say 'Ah, what a goodlie citie this was… and now there is scarcely left any house'.

Samuel Pepys wrote that when Prince Rupert, the king’s cousin, was at sea he heard about the burning of London and said ‘now Shipton’s prophecy was out’.

William Lilly (1602-1681) was an astrologer who claimed he could see the future in his dreams. His book of 1651, Monarchy or No Monarchy, contains pictures from his dreams including two that may predict the Great Fire. One shows a burning city while the other shows a pair of twins hanging over a fire. The twins represent Gemini, which was the star sign for London.

Monarchy or No Monarchy, 1651
This book contained William Lilly’s predictions of a terrible fire.
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