Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London took part from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666.

It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches,St. Paul's Cathedral and most of the buildings of the City authorities. It is estimated that it destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's 80,000 inhabitants. The death toll from the fire is unknown and is traditionally thought to have been small, as only six verified deaths were recorded. This reasoning has recently been challenged on the grounds that the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded anywhere, and that the heat of the fire may have cremated many victims, leaving no recognizable remains.

The great fire started at the bakery of Thomas Farriner midnight on Sunday, 2 September, and it spread rapidly west across the City of London. By the time large-scale demolitions were ordered on Sunday night, the wind had already fanned the bakery fire into a firestorm which defeated such measures.