Great Fire of London

In 1666, London was England¡¯s economic powerhouse with an estimated population of 500,000. Its closest rival in size was Bristol with a population of only 30,000.

The city¡¯s architecture had changed little from the Middle Ages. Narrow, cobble-stoned, and foul-smelling streets doubled as the city¡¯s sewers. Many of the streets were lined with homes made of wood and pitch, some four stories high. The upper stories of these homes overhung the lower ones and projected into the street, effectively blocking the sun and decreasing the distance between the buildings. This typical construction and London¡¯s uncontrolled growth had created a fireman¡¯s nightmare: a city dominated by old, dry, and wooden structures, tightly packed into a confined space just waiting for a spark to ignite disaster.

The nightmare became reality in the early morning hours of September 2, 1666 when a small fire erupted in the shop of the King¡¯s baker. Flames fanned by a steady wind quickly spread to the surrounding neighborhood. By 8 o¡¯clock in the morning, the fire had reached the Thames and progressed half way across London Bridge, and its advance halted only by a gap in the shops on the bridge.

Elsewhere, the conflagration raged uncontrollably, consuming all in its path for three days. Fire fighters resorted to blowing up buildings with gunpowder in order to deny the inferno. This, plus the subsiding of the winds, reduced the fire so that it could be extinguished -- but not before it gave one last gasp that threatened Westminster.

Thankfully, the loss of life was low, but approximately four fifths of the city had been destroyed. The cataclysm did have some positive outcomes. From the fire¡¯s ashes arose a new, better planned city, with wider streets and buildings made of fire-resistant stone. Destroyed by the fire, St. Paul¡¯s Cathedral was rebuilt along with 49 other churches. Additionally, the rats that harbored the plague-infected fleas that had devastated the city the previous year were consumed by the flames.