London's Great Fire: How a City Burned and Rebuilt

Picture waking up in the middle of the night to screaming and orange light flickering through your window. You look outside and see half your street is on fire. This is exactly what happened to thousands of people in London on 2 September 1666. Before that night was over, a fire that started in one small bakery would grow into one of the most famous disasters in British history.

In 1666, London was a very different city from the one we know today. Most buildings were made of wood and were built so close together that neighbours could almost shake hands from their upstairs windows. The streets between them were narrow, dark alleyways. On the night of 2 September 1666, a fire broke out in a bakery on Pudding Lane in the City of London. The baker, Thomas Farriner, had not properly put out his oven before going to sleep. Sparks landed on nearby firewood and the bakery caught alight. The fire spread with terrifying speed — and three main things helped it: 1. DRY WEATHER. The summer of 1666 had been long and hot. The wooden buildings were bone dry, which made them burn like tinder (dry material that catches fire easily). 2. STRONG WIND. A powerful easterly wind blew that night. It pushed flames from building to building across the narrow streets. 3. WOODEN BUILDINGS PACKED CLOSE TOGETHER. Fire leapt easily from roof to roof. There was almost no gap to stop it. The fire burned for four days — from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666. By the time it was finally put out, around 13,200 houses had been destroyed. About 70,000 people were left homeless. Nearly 90 churches burned down, including the famous St Paul's Cathedral. The fire was eventually stopped by pulling down rows of buildings to create firebreaks — empty gaps the fire could not jump across. After the fire, London was rebuilt. This time, a law said that new buildings had to be made of brick or stone instead of wood. Wider streets were planned. A new, grander St Paul's Cathedral was designed by the architect Sir Christopher Wren. The city that rose from the ashes was safer and more organised than before.