London History The Great FireThe Great Fire of London 1666
Any mention of the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London is rarely far behind. Often credited with stamping out the Great Plague of 1665, the fire 
in truth had little impact. Most plague hot-spots in 1666 lay at the outskirts of the city and by the time of the fire, plague cases were dropping dramatically in London.
The Great Fire of London began just before 2am on the 2nd of September 1666. It sprung from one of the ovens in the bakery of Thomas Farynor (or Farriner) in Pudding Lane. At 2am smoke was detected and an alarm was raised with Farynor's family escaping through an upstairs window. A maid who was too frightened to follow, was the first casualty. Several factors contributed to the fire being uncontained at this early stage. Firstly it was a Sunday, meaning there were no nearby workers on duty at Billingsgate Market. Ordinarily a ready workforce of helpers could have extinguished the fire quickly enough (supplementing the 'Trained Bands' militia who would tackle blazes). The second factor was the late hour, there being very few people around to help and of those that did awaken - many simply returned to bed expecting things would right themselves by morning. The nearby houses caught slowly, but with insufficient manpower to control the blaze the fire crept slowly southwards towards the Thames. The mayor, Sir Thomas Bloodworth was on the scene but refused to permit buildings to be pulled down to prevent the spread of fire, since they were mostly rented properties. He is quoted as saying "Pish! A woman could piss it out!", when referring to the fire. Hasty words, which were to haunt him later. The fire crossed the road to the Stars Inn Yard where combustible goods were stored, helping the fire to flare dramatically. It was a matter of minutes before its windborne debris caused the nearby unprotected wharves to catch fire. Sheds, manufactories and warehouses containing a panoply of fire-friendly goods were quickly consumed by the flames. Flammable pitch, tar, timber, hemp, hay, hops and barrels of brandy helped the fire to mushroom. Accounts at the time suggest that at this point there was a growing awareness by those nearby, that the fire was now out of all control. Crucially, the fire had also spread along the waterfront preventing those available to help, from accessing the necessary water from the Thames.
At around the time the fire started, a strong easterly wind began to build. London Bridge, with its numerous dwellings began to catch on the north shore of the Thames. The only bridge across the river at the time - its being ablaze 
prevented further help from Londoners on the South Bank. Samuel Pepys had been alerted to the fire a few hours after it had started. A servant had seen an orange glow to the south and quickly roused him, but Pepys took a course of action similar to many others that night. He watched it for a while, then returned to bed, sure that it was being effectively tackled. By morning, since the strengthening wind had taken hold, the fire was rampant. Pepys visited the King - Charles II - at Whitehall. He was quickly dispatched back to the City, with the Crown's authority to tear down any buildings which might prevent the rapid advance of the fire and the offer of the Duke of York's troops to assist. He found Lord Mayor Bloodworth in Cannon Street and prepared to relay the King's message, only to discover the mayor had taken the decision already. Pepys was assured crews were busy demolishing rows of houses at the leading edge of the inferno, using gunpowder. Bloodworth also declined the offer of troops, probably attributable to pride rather than sense. Despite desperate attempts, the fire aided and fuelled by the wind, overtook their efforts and caught the houses behind them. As evening began to fall, Pepys became aware of a growing sense of doom amongst the population. London prepared to spend the night awake.
As a god-fearing community who had just endured a plague of such endemic proportions that it was later termed 'The Great Plague' you had to wonder how Londoners perceived the latest developments in their reflective moments. After the misery and immense personal loss of both human life, property and prosperity - the population were forced to watch as a blaze levelled their city. With the previous year's survival through desperate times fresh in their memory, only one conclusion could be drawn. London had sinned, and this was their god exacting his revenge on a sinful congregation. Londoners spent the night praying or those with diminished faith: fled the city with what they could carry. A fleet of carts were available for hire at vastly inflated prices, by those who saw an opportunity to turn a penny (£40 in one recorded case, near £5,000 in today's money).
At daybreak the following morning Pepys attempted to record the fire's fury. The flames rattled buildings violently to their foundations, their frontages quaking in tall vertical curtains of white heat. The sound was ear-splitting - like thundering hooves from battalion upon battalion of mounted troops. Although efforts were maintained throughout the day, resolve amongst the population began to wane. As night drew in after the second day, all hope of extinguishing the fire had been lost. People abandoned their 
efforts and damage containment and self-preservation kicked in. London was lost and there was no sense in going down with the ship. Time to gather some possessions and beat a hasty retreat to the suburbs. Unfortunately, those very locations which were still harbouring the last vestiges of the recent plague. A rock and a hard place to be sure. At this stage the fire was a full two miles wide and over a mile in depth. Screams and mournful wails were drowned by the thundering flames, hot stones flew from St. Paul's Cathedral like grenades and a suffocating, invisible heat flowed down the narrow channels of the city's streets.
On the fourth day the wind dropped and prayers were finally answered: the fire was brought under control. By the fifth day, pockets were still springing to life periodically, but the Great Fire of London was officially 'out'. During it's brief but vigorous life, it consumed and destroyed: 13,200 houses, St. Paul's Cathedral (the 4th on the site, the present one is the 5th - its replacement), 87 parish churches, 6 chapels, The Guildhall, The Royal Exchange, Custom House, 52 company halls, numerous markets, several prisons, 3 gates and 4 stone bridges. There were however, only 6 recorded deaths.
Although the Great Fire of London did not rid London of the plague with its cleansing flames, it did destroy the city entirely. Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke were charged with the rebuilding works which took over 50 years. Instead of employing the usual, highly flammable timber frames and thatch (which was banned as a building material within the city) and building closely packed, tall and narrow dwellings. Wider streets and stone buildings with less overcrowding, were the order of the day. London could not afford to make the same mistake twice. Yes the cost would be considerably higher, but London was repentant in the face of recent tribulation and costs would have to be met. The rebuilding of St. Paul's was the United Kingdom's most expensive and complex engineering project yet undertaken. The rats were driven out by the fire and when they returned, found conditions less favourable to their species' rapid multiplication. It is possible that this indirect effect of the fire (causing London to be rebuilt in a way which would prevent future fires), also created plague-unfriendly conditions, however further large outbreaks of plague were not experienced in any European cities after this date - confounding the theory.
The rebuilding worked - as did the implementation of better fire prevention facilities and engines; paid for by London's insurance companies. Fires on the scale of the 'Great Fire' were not to be seen again, until the Blitz of 1940.
The Great Fire of London - Peter Ackroyd
{Snippet from Ackroyd's 'London' comparing The Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz of WW2 in 1940}
