The Great Fire of London

I chose to do my project on the Great Fire of London. I decided to
focus on some of the history and how the fire effected the city of
London and influenced the culture. Also I decided to show how two
mens diary entries were so significant. The event took place from Sunday September 2 through September 5 year in the year 1666. The fire started at the bakery and home of Thomas Farrinor on Pudding Lane. The family managed to escape by climbing out the upstairs window. The maid was to scared and became the first victum of the Great Fire. Neighbors tried to help quench the fire,constablesarrived and told the people that the houses around should be destroyed to prevent the fire spreading more. Two of the most famous diarists during the Great Fire and the restoration were Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn. The people refused to have their houses torn down and Sir Thomas Bloodworth who was the Mayor of London at the time was called to help and he refused also. Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary "People do all the world cry out of the simplicity of my Lord Mayor in general; and more particularly in this business of the fire, laying it all upon him." On monday the houses of the bankers on Lombard street began to burn, which caused a huge rush to get their stacks of gold coins, which were so important to the wealth of the city, to safety before they melted away. John Evelyn wrote"The conflagaration was so universal, and the people so astonished, that from the beginning, I know not by what despondency or fate, they hardly stirred to quench it, so that there was nothing heard or seen but crying out and lamentation, running about, like distracted creatures without at all attempting to save even their goods, such a strange consternation there was upon them." Evelyn said in his diary that the river was crowded with boats trying to make their way through with supplies. The "London Gazette" printing press burned down, which everyone in the city relied on, so rumors began to spread about a foreign invasion. Guards began going through the city and capturing Catholics, foreigners and anyone else who looked strange. Thomas Bloodworth abandoned the city while King Charles II put his brother James in charge. James made many men he found on the street into firefighters and he fed and paid them well. He and his men also rescued foreigners and tried to keep things calm . Tuesday was the biggest destruction day of all. People had crammed St. Pauls cathedral full of goods because no one thought it would burn, but unfortunately it was being restored and had wooden scaffolding on it. By wednesday the wind dropped, so the fire breakers were finally able to work. The Great Fire was finally over, but people were still worried about a foreign attack. Many narratives were written during this time about the peoples concern and why they believed that this what was happening. King Charles II was worried about a London rebellion against the monarchy because of the unrest growing in the people because of the worry of a forgeign attack. Charles brought bread into the city everyday to try to help the people. In the end 13,200 houses, 87 churches, the custom house, 44 company halls, St. Pauls Cathedral, the Royal Exchange and Bridewall Palace were destroyed in the Great Fire. The number of deaths is unknown, but is thought to be small. Recently discovered was the fact that many middle class and poor deaths were not recorded which could possibly mean bigger numbers. In 1667 the first Rebuilding Act published by Parliament was put into action. The act laid down road widths, types of building, types of houses that were allowed and the city of London officials were responsible for the new building regulations and the repairing of old buildings. After much debate they decided to recreate the old street plan, with hygiene improvements where new sewers were added. Wider street were created because of the difficulties people had when trying to leave the city of London. The buildings were built mostly all of brick and pavement was used for the first time. St. Pauls Cathedral was completely reconstructed. Charles II decided to have a monument be constructed next to Pudding Lane, where the Great Fire originally started. The monument was designed by Christopher Wren and stands 61 meters tall. It said "Here by permission of Heaven, hell broke loose
upon this Protestant City...the most dreadful burning of this city.
Many people in London back then memorized this text which soon became part of their culture because it was something that everyone
knew because it was such a significant event. Another monument called "The Golden Boy of Pye Corner in Smithfield" is located where the Great Fire stopped. The plaque on this monument says that the
fire was started because God was angry at the city of London for the sin of gluttony. Both of these monuments symbolize the harsh time that the people of London had to go through and the dramatic reconstruction that followed. By 1672 nearly all the rebuilding of the houses was finished. Only 51 out of 87 churches were rebuilt and they were each given their own identiy. Two ways in which the Great Fire was defeated were the strong east winds died down and the tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create effective firebreakers to halt any further speed. The Great Fire damaged 4/5 of London
affected the city. Both of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyns diaries were very helpful in learning more about the disastor. These men wanted to know what was going on at all times and wrote down everything that they observed. Without their information there would be many gaps in our history of the fire. The culture of London was greatly effected also because the people had to learn to cope with the circumstances they were in. The changes that London went through I believe were the better than the worse. Many of the physical aspects needed to be changed and which were and people needed to stop singling out others because they were different. Going to visit some of the places where the Great Fire went through gave me a better grasp at the extremity and force of it all and how the city had to work together to get through all of its hard times. The Great Fire is such a large part of of the city of Londons history and I am glad I got to experience it in my own way.

Sources:
1) St. Pauls Cathedral
2) The Story of the Great Fire by Adrian Tinniswood
3) The Museum of London
4) The Great Fire by Stephen Porter
5) The Monument in London