A (0:00)

From September 2 to September 5, 1666, one of the largest urban fires in history took place. The great fire of London swept mercilessly through the city, reducing roughly 80% of its buildings to smoldering ruins and possibly killing thousands of people. In the ashes of the inferno, the city reinvented itself, determined to ensure that such widespread destruction would never happen again. And in the process, it also laid the foundation for the London that exists today. Learn more about the great fire of London on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

B (0:48)

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C (0:55)

Too easy.

B (0:56)

Think something's up? You tell me. They got thousands of options, found a great car at a great price, and it got delivered the next day. It sounds like Carvana just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank. Yeah, you're right. Case closed.

A (1:12)

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C (1:18)

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A (1:50)

In the 1660s, London was one of the world's largest cities, with an estimated 350,000 people living in close proximity to one another. This closeness was in large part due to the city's massive walls. Residents living within the city walls and along the river Thames were part of the city proper. This region covered about 700 acres, and this close proximity also led to a low quality of life. Heavy traffic choked the streets, Filth and unsanitary conditions were everywhere, and disease thrived in this environment. In addition to epidemics, another great risk for the city was fire. There had been a few large fires in the decades leading up to the great Fire. This was largely due to the close proximity of the buildings and the materials used for construction. Most of the homes in London at this time were built with oak timber and were clustered tightly together. This was a deadly combination of combustibility and conditions, which allowed the fire to spread rapidly. These fire risks were made even worse by the weather. The summer of 1666 had been incredibly hot, windy, and unusually dry. This meant that the wooden homes and buildings were essentially bone dry and perfect for burning. The lack of water also contributed in other ways, as many of the city's water sources had dried up. This, together with the absence of any organized firefighting force, made it extremely difficult to fight fires because there was little water available to put them out. The windy conditions that year just made everything worse. Strong winds can literally fan the flames of a fire, providing oxygen as well as causing hot embers to travel to other rooftops. The Great Fire of London began in the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666. A fire started at the Thomas Farriner's Bakery on Pudding Lane. The fire quickly engulfed the house. The family managed to escape except for the maidservant, and the rest of the family fled to a neighbor's home where they tried to put out the flames. After an hour of trying to quell the flames, the local parish constable arrived at the scene and decided to destroy the remaining houses in the area to stop the fire from spreading further. Obviously, people living in the nearby homes were unhappy with this arrangement and refused to accept it. This led to the parish constable summoning London's Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Bloodforth, to the scene to give permission to knock down the homes. When Bloodforth was awakened, he reportedly showed no concern about the fire. In fairness to him, fires were fairly common in London at that time. But his cavalier response to the fire likely initially led to the situation escalating into the disaster it became. Bloodforth arrived at the scene as the fire was already spreading to nearby homes, allowing it to move closer to flammable warehouses and stores along the riverfront. The more experienced firemen at the scene were yelling for Bloodforth to grant permission to demolish the nearby homes so the fire would not spread, but Bloodforth refused. Reports indicate that Bloodforth refused to demolish the buildings because many of the homes in the area were rented. Since authorities could not locate the owners of the rented properties, he declined to demolish the buildings after denying the firefighters requests. Bloodforth reportedly said, quote, pish, a woman might piss it out and left the area. Many contemporaries believe that Bloodforth was ill equipped to be mayor and was appointed to be a yes man rather than because he was capable for the job. And as a result, when an emergency occurred, he panicked. Later that morning, according to Samuel Pepys, a writer and politician, the fire had already burnt down about 300 homes. The flames traveled towards the riverfront and people desperately tried to remove their goods and put them on boats or to toss them into the river to sa them. Pepys account continued to describe the rest of Sunday, reporting that by Then efforts to extinguish the fire had diminished and that people were fleeing the area. The fire was spreading rapidly due to high winds, and there was little that could be done. Word eventually reached the King, Charles II from Pepys, that the fire was dangerous and that if he did not command that buildings be knocked down, the fire would destroy the city. Charles II ordered Mayor Bloodforth to begin demolishing buildings and sent Pepys to deliver the order. Pepys went to the fire zone and described the situation as getting worse. As people fled, crowds formed a human wall and it was almost impossible for firefighters or carriages to enter the area. Pepys then described Bloodforth's action throughout the day. When arriving at the scene of the fire, Pepys described finding Bloodforth acting like a fainting woman while trying to direct the firefighting efforts. Pepys reported that Bloodforth was also whining that he was trying to follow the King's orders to demolish the buildings to prevent the fire from spreading, but that the flames were moving too quickly. Pepys then says that when Bloodforth was offered more soldiers to help prevent the fires from spreading, he refused, desperate to hold onto his authority, and then went to bed. Many historians blame Bloodworth for the fire. However, it's unfair to completely scapegoat him. Bloodworth could not have demolished homes without being personally held responsible for the cost of rebuilding them. However, that really doesn't excuse his inaction. Later, King Charles sailed down the river on his boat to inspect the scene and saw that buildings were not being demolished to help quell the fire. So he overrode Blood Forest's authority, ordering that demolitions occur to the west of the fire to prevent further spreading. However, at this point, the fire had taken on a life of its own. It had become a firestorm, meaning that the flames generated and sustained their own wind system. This pushed the fire towards the City Center. On September 3, the fire continued to blaze. The flames spread rapidly to the northern and western portions of London. Fortunately for the southern portion, the River Thames mostly prevented the flames from spreading. But there was still fear that the fire could cross the London Bridge. By September 4, roughly half of London was in flames. The situation was dire. People worked tirelessly to try to stop the fire, with little success. Even the King was on the front lines, passing buckets of water to the firefighters. In a desperate attempt to stop the fire, officials ordered the use of gunpowder to blow up buildings in its path. This attempt failed and only worsened the problem. Many of London's affected citizens ran to St. Paul's Cathedral, which Was presumed to be safe. Due to the empty plaza and the stone walls surrounding it, the cathedral was filled to the brim with refugees, goods and other important items. However, the cathedral's assumed safety proved to be false. Due to ongoing renovations. The building was covered in wooden scaffolding and as such, the church caught fire and was destroyed. On the evening of September 4th, luck finally broke in London's favor. The winds began to die down, slowing the flames. On September 5, the firebreaks that had been made finally began to work, helping make the fire more controllable. While there were still smaller flames that needed to be put out. The great inferno that had been moving through the city had finally ended. In total, roughly 80% of London was destroyed in the Great Fire. Though the death count estimate varies from the single digits to the thousands, the impact on people's lives and the sheer amount of damage inflicted on the city were significant. The homeless were placed in temporary buildings. These buildings were poorly built and ill equipped to handle that many people. Illness spread and people were exposed to the harsh winter that followed. This led to numerous deaths from disease in addition to those killed by the fire. Additionally, the financial costs of the fire were disastrous for the city. With 13,200 houses and nearly 100 parish churches, the City Guild hall, the royal exchange and St. Paul's Cathedral destroyed or damaged, the city had to pay an estimated £10 million to repair everything, which was an astronomical amount for that time. Fire prevention and urban regulation became far more organized. After the fire, London developed organized firefighting measures including parish fire engines, water supplies and later insurance backed private fire brigades. The creation of these fire insurance programs laid the groundwork for the establishment of a larger insurance industry centered in London, which to this day remains the world's largest. Building inspection, street cleaning and waste control improved, Reflecting a growing belief that the city could and should be managed through rules and planning rather than traditional own. The rebuilding of London was planned by Sir Christopher Wren and carried out over the course of 30 years. In many ways, the fire was viewed as an opportunity to rebuild the city in a more logical, safer way. Prior to the Great Fire, London was considered a filthy city. There was little infrastructure or sanitation measures due to the dense layout which allowed for disease to spread. The city's weakness had been recognized before the fire, but little could be done about the cramped, flammable, unsanitary conditions. The fire created a perfect situation to address these problems. Suddenly, the tightly packed space was empty, allowing the builders to put new measures into place and to improve the city's infrastructure and safety. The new buildings that were built were built with materials like brick and stone, which are much less flammable than wood. Measures were passed, such as banning protruding signs and other objects that could spread fire, and different building classes were enacted to help widen the streets. Additionally, new public health measures were passed to help sanitize the city. These actions helped prevent further outbreaks of plague in London, economically and administratively. The rebuilding accelerated modernization. New taxes on coal helped fund reconstruction, property records were clarified and surveying became more precise. The rebuilding process stimulated trade such as brick making, stonemasonry and architecture, helping London emerge as a more professionalized and commercially driven capital. The new St. Paul's Cathedral, with its great dome, became a defining symbol of London and marked a shift away from medieval Gothic architecture towards Baroque and classical forms. In sum, the Great Fire did not turn London into a perfectly planned city, but it decisively ended the medieval timber city. It produced a safer, more regulated, more monumental London whose materials, architecture and governance set the pattern for the modern metropolis. So while the Great Fire didn't immediately give birth to modern London, the London that we know today probably wouldn't exist in its current form without it. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. Research and writing for this episode was provided by Olivia Ashe. 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