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The Great Fire of London A woman might piss it out, exclaimed London mayor Sir Thomas Bloodworth in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, September 2, 1666 (Kishlansky 213). At this time, no one thought that a small fire in a small shop on Pudding Lane would become a sweltering inferno that would destroy over four fifths of the medieval city. Though this devastating tragedy obliterated many of the historical landmarks in the city and ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, some good things did come out of it. The Great Fire of London changed London and its people forever.
Bad choices and apathy before the fire began and in the beginnings of the fire started a chain of events that changed the city forever. The fire struck London at a particularly bad time. London was just recovering from the Black Plague, and England had just waged war with Holland and France (Kingston and Lambert 104). The town was very susceptible to fire for many reasons. Contractors and builders ignored long-standing building codes and laws, which required buildings to be built of stone or brick. Instead, homes were constructed of wood and other combustible material, making the inner city a tinderbox.
Also, the summer before was very hot and dry, drying homes and land all around the city (Ward and others, eds. 86). The city of London was about ready to burst into flames by the smallest spark. On the night of September 2, 1666, the fire was lit. The spark immerged from the kings bakers shop on Pudding Lane.
Around 2 a. m. the kings baker, Thomas Farrinor, was awakened by his maid, who smelled smoke. As Farrinor woke his family and helped them escape from the smoldering bakery, the maid stayed behind and became the first casualty of the Great Fire. Narrow streets, close construction, the fact the houses were made of wood, and a strong northeast wind helped to spread the fire fairly quickly (Kingston and Lambert 104). The mayor of London, Sir Thomas Bloodworth, was awoken early in the morning by a servant and shown the problem.
To say the least, he was unimpressed. These bad choices and apathy turned out to be the citys undoing. Hesitant government officials and citizens let the fire spread and destruction become historic. As it was early in the morning and hardly anyone was awake, the townsfolk had no organization or leadership and did not know what to do. During this period of confusion, the fire continued to spread.
The fire spread to the citys main water pumps and destroyed them, leaving the city without water for fighting the mighty warm beast. (Kingston and Lambert 104 - 5) The blazing entity had destroyed many of the homes near the bakery and the waterfront area overnight and was making its way toward the Tower of London. The only way the people of London could stop the fire now was to get rid of the fuel. The fuel for this fire was wood wood from homes. The only way to get rid of housing would be to destroy it, and only the king, Charles II, could grant the destruction of housing in the city. Because of the optimism that the fire could still be put out, Charles hesitated to give the order. As he waited, the fire became more and more out of control. (Kishlansky 213) During this time of optimistic hesitation, many of the important landmarks in the ancient city were destroyed.
The Guildhall, or town hall, the Cheapside, or market center of London, and St. Pauls Cathedral were the most important places to be consumed by the roaring beast. The fire was so hot that it began to melt the lead-coated roofs and domes of the ancient cathedral. All Six acres of leaden roofs poured down into the churchyard like snow before the sun' (st. in Kingston and Lambert 105) Eventually, the order was given by King Charles II to begin the destruction of homes, but by this time, Tuesday, September 4, the fire was out of control and hope of saving the majority of the city became slimmer and slimmer. (Kishlansky 214) As the fire raged on, the time came to attempt to extinguish the mighty, flaming beast. King Charles II decided to organize a troop of refugees to stop the spread of destruction.
First, the roads and streets were unclogged of panicking civilians and maniacal buggy drivers. Levies along the Thames River were freed so the firefighters could use the water for their battle (Kishlansky 214). Bucket brigades did not put the fire out, though. The main stratagem for battling the infernal foe was to fight fire with fire, or gunpowder. Because of the immense size of the blazing inferno, water or suffocation was not going to stop it. The only other way to extinguish the blaze was to take its fuel.
Because England had just began to battle with France and the Netherlands, the Tower was full of gunpowder to put on boats at the nearby shipyard. To save the Tower and the city, homes around the Tower were blown up with the combustible contents of the tower. The remaining rubble was removed and just like that, the fire stopped spreading toward the Tower (Rowse 191). This tactic was then implemented all over the city and eventually the fire was contained on Thursday the 5 th and extinguished on the 6 th.
By the time the fire was extinguished it was too late to save the city and much of its history. Only eight people died as a direct result of the fire, but hundreds of thousands were economically ruined. By way of buildings, over 13, 200 homes were brought down or burnt down, leaving many of the cities peoples homeless. St.
Pauls Cathedral and 87 smaller parish churches burned. One of the smaller churches that was destroyed in the fire, St. Faiths, possibly contained the Third Folio edition of William Shakespeare's works (Ward and others, eds. 89). Many of the civic buildings like the Guildhall, Royal Exchange, and the Custom House also perished in the fire. 44 livery buildings, and the majority of the citys landmarks were also destroyed by the monstrous inferno (Encyclop dia 285). Overall, about one sixth of the city was left standing. London was at an all time low.
This blazing travesty took its toll on the economy and government of London and England. Financially, the Great Fire cost the city of London a great deal. The cost to rebuild the ruined homes and devastated buildings came to a total of over 10, 000, 000. This amount is eight times what the king made in a year.
It seemed that England now had a deficit (Kishlansky 215). Years before, King Charles II left control of the government to his assistant, the Earl of Clarendon, Edward Hyde. Many terrible instances during his reign, including the Great Fire, disgraced him, and he was taken from his job. For the next six years, Charles had to take over and rule the government through an inner Cabal (Halliday 124).
Many of the government buildings were destroyed, so officials had to use the buildings that survived to conduct their services. After the fire was all well and done, people began to wonder how it started. First, it was thought that the countrys new enemies were to blame for arson. This was quickly done away with. Due to the recent events in London and England, such as the Plague, the beginning of a new war, and the Fire, the assumption that God was punishing them for tolerating Catholics, religious persecution, an unfaithful king, and all of the nations sins became the most widely accepted hypothesis (Kishlansky 215). It is also thought the baker, Thomas Farrinor, left the fire burning in his oven as he went to bed.
Thomas denied these accusations. From the coming of the Fire also came some new organizations that set a tone for the rest of the world. A man by the name of Nicholas Barbon began the first fire insurance company in 1667. In addition, London developed a fire station with full time fire fighters. These revelations in England and London effected the people and economy of the nation greatly. Though many of the historical landmarks in the city were destroyed, a new look for London was on the horizons.
The basic ideas that everyone had for the city were wider streets, canalization of the Fleet River, relocated markets, and a taller London Bridge (Encyclop dia 285). Three architects were hired to make plans for the charred city. The one who was chosen was Sir Christopher Wren. Wren designed the new look for all of the churches in England. His greatest work of the time, though, was the new St. Pauls Cathedral.
The domed ceiling, marble interior and spacious courtyard are the most beautiful in all of England. Besides St. Pauls, Wren designed forty-nine other churches (London 285). As the citizens of London rebuilt their homes, the builders and contractors had to begin to use and respect old and new building codes. As the homeless, architects, and other builders reworked the innards of the city, they had to build their structures of brick or stone and of limited height. Many ordinances just stated that the city was to be cleaner, neater, safer, and more modern city (Ward 88).
Buildings also had to be spaced farther apart, but this ordinance was not followed. The new, modern look for the city gave London great feel of old and a new happy feel. Due to the Great Fire of London, London has been forever changed. The intensity and destruction of the fiery beast gave way to new looks, operations, and attitude for this ancient city. Sure, the fire was bad, but some good things did come out of it.
Halliday, F. E. A Concise History of England From Stonehenge to the Atomic Age. New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd. , 1965. Kingston, Jeremy and David Lambert.
Catastrophe and Crisis. New York: Album Books Limited, London, 1979. Kishlansky, Mark. A Monarchy Transformed: Britain 1603 - 1714. London, England: Penguin Press, 1996.
London. Encyclop dia Britannica. Vol. 14. 19 XX ed. Rowse, A. L. The Tower of London in the History of England.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. Ward, Kari and others, eds. Great Disasters. New York: Readers Digest, 1989.
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