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London was a city just waiting to burn. (evering)
Thomas Farynor, king Charles II's Baker, went to bed without properly extinguishing the fire in one of the stoves. -
Start of fire (1:00 a.m.)
A spark from the stove's ashes ignited the straw on the baking floor. The blaze quickly engulfed the house on Padding lane. -
Attempts to stop the spread of fire (4:00 a.m.)
Thomas Bludworth, the mayor of London, was awakened. He was advised to demolish the surrounding buildings, as this would stop the spread of the fire, but the mayor refused to give such an order. -
End of the disaster
Only by Wednesday evening, when the strong winds subsided, was it possible to bring the fire under control.The fire was almost completely extinguished -
The effects of fire
By the time the fire was completely extinguished, five-sixths of the entire city center had been destroyed. More than 13,000 homes, 87 churches, and 4 bridges were destroyed, along with many important buildings such as St. Paul's Cathedral. However, less than ten people died in the fire. -
Monument in memory of the Great London fire
If you visit London today, you can see a tall column called the Monument, marking the Great Fire. It rises to a height of 220 feet.
Interesting facts about the monument:
- The height of the monument in memory of the Great London fire is comparable to the distance to the place where the fire started.
- During the Second world war, a bomb fired over London exploded at the same distance from the monument as the bakery, just to the West of it.
