Beginning History: The Great Fire Of London

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Pupils could read extracts (or simplified versions) from the diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn. In addition to the physical changes to London, the Great Fire had a significant demographic, social, political, economic, and cultural impact. The fire "caused the largest dislocation of London's residential structure in its history until the Blitz". [142] Areas to the west of London received the highest number of new residents, but there was a general increase in the population density of the suburbs surrounding London. [143] Approximately 9,000 new houses were built in the area in which over 13,000 had been destroyed, and by 1674 thousands of these remained unoccupied. [144] Tenants who did remain in London saw a significant decrease in the costs of their lease. [145] Thomas Farriner and his family climbed out of the window, to the roof, and escaped to the neighbour’s house… all except their maid. Topic Guides – Explore our topic guides and discover teaching ideas, resources, facts, videos and books that will help you to teach your children about a wide range of topics and themes. Only a few deaths from the fire are officially recorded, and deaths are traditionally believed to have been few. Porter gives the figure as eight [3] and Tinniswood as "in single figures", although he adds that some deaths must have gone unrecorded and that, besides direct deaths from burning and smoke inhalation, refugees also perished in the impromptu camps. [2] Field argues that the number "may have been higher than the traditional figure of six, but it is likely it did not run into the hundreds": he notes that the London Gazette "did not record a single fatality" and that had there been a significant death toll it would have been reflected in polemical accounts and petitions for charity. [106]

Carlson, Jennifer Anne (September 2005). "The economics of fire protection: from the Great Fire of London to Rural/Metro". Economic Affairs. 25 (3): 39–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2005.00570.x.Source 5 provides evidence of how Charles hoped to improve the city and prevent such a calamity happening again. SP 29/171 All dates are given according to the Julian calendar. Note that, when recording British history, it is usual to use the dates recorded at the time of the event. Any dates between 1 January and 25 March have their year adjusted to start on 1 January according to the New Style.

Thomas Farrinor and his wife got out of their bakery in time, but their maid was too frightened to jump from the roof. She was the first to die. Surprisingly, only nine people died as a result of the fire. A special Fire Court was set up from February 1667 to December 1668, and again from 1670 to February 1676. The aim of the court, which was authorized by the Fire of London Disputes Act and the Rebuilding of London Act 1670, was to deal with disputes between tenants and landlords and decide who should rebuild, based on ability to pay. Cases were heard and a verdict usually given within a day; without the Fire Court, lengthy legal proceedings would have seriously delayed the rebuilding which was so necessary if London was to recover. [132] [133] Who Was Samuel Pepys? by Paul Harrison – simple biography of Pepy’s life, including a section about his recount of The Great Fire.

The Great Fire Dogs by Megan Rix – follow the adventures of two dogs, Woofer and Tiger Lily, as they brave The Great Fire of 1666. But before they could use fire hooks, the people of Pudding Lane needed to ask the Lord Mayor if they were allowed to – and he had to say ‘yes’. By the late 17th century, the City proper—the area bounded by the city wall and the River Thames—was only a part of London, covering some 700 acres (2.8km 2; 1.1sqmi), [11] and home to about 80,000 people, or one quarter of London's inhabitants. The City was surrounded by a ring of inner suburbs where most Londoners lived. [7] The City was then, as now, the commercial heart of the capital, and was the largest market and busiest port in England, dominated by the trading and manufacturing classes. [12] The City was traffic-clogged, polluted, and unhealthy, especially after it was hit by a devastating outbreak of bubonic plague in the Plague Year of 1665. [7]

Porter, Stephen (28 September 2006). "The great fire of London". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/95647. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Historic England. "The Golden Boy of Pye Corner(Grade II) (1286479)". National Heritage List for England. Garrioch, David (2016). "1666 and London's fire history: A re-evaluation". The Historical Journal. 59 (2): 319–338. doi: 10.1017/S0018246X15000382. Images to Inspire – A huge collection of inspirational images that can be used as the starting point for learning. Each picture is accompanied by a writing prompt, inference questions and related activity ideas! England and the Netherlands: the ties between two nations". Memory of the Netherlands. Koninklijke Bibliotheek . Retrieved 8 November 2010.London possessed advanced fire-fighting technology in the form of fire engines, which had been used in earlier large-scale fires. However, unlike the useful firehooks, these large pumps had rarely proved flexible or functional enough to make much difference. Only some of them had wheels; others were mounted on wheelless sleds. [42] They had to be brought a long way, tended to arrive too late, and had limited reach, with spouts but no delivery hoses. [c] On this occasion, an unknown number of fire engines were either wheeled or dragged through the streets. Firefighters tried to manoeuvre the engines to the river to fill their tanks, and several of the engines fell into the Thames. The heat from the flames by then was too great for the remaining engines to get within a useful distance. [41] Development of the fire Sunday Approximate damage by the evening of Sunday, 2 September, outlined in dashes ( Pudding Lane origin [a] is short vertical road in lower right damage area) [44] Tinniswood, Adrian (2003). By Permission of Heaven: The Story of the Great Fire of London. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06226-3.

The questions progress in difficulty, so those based on source 5 are a little harder than those questions based on source 1. It is suggested that teachers/helpers read through the documents together with the class. Have a go at reading the original document first to spot familiar words, but all documents are transcribed and have simplified transcripts. Here are some suggestions for further activitiesThe wind dropped on Tuesday evening, and the firebreaks created by the garrison finally began to take effect on Wednesday, 5September. [97] [98] Pepys climbed the steeple of Barking Church, from which he viewed the destroyed City, "the saddest sight of desolation that I ever saw". [99] There were many separate fires still burning, but the Great Fire was over. It took some time until the last traces were put out: coal was still burning in cellars two months later. [100] SINGS) Something’s burning, something’s burning. Fetch the ketchup, fetch the ketchup… BBQ! BBQ! It’s burnt and it’s crispy.Before ovens were invented all food had to be cooked on fires. It seemed there was nowhere safe from the fire, so everyone was really worried – including the diary writer Samuel Pepys. The fears of terrorism received an extra boost from the disruption of communications and news. The General Letter Office in Threadneedle Street, through which post passed for the entire country, burned down early on Monday morning. The London Gazette just managed to put out its Monday issue before the printer's premises went up in flames. [75] Suspicions rose to panic and collective paranoia on Monday, and both the Trained Bands and the Coldstream Guards focused less on fire fighting and more on rounding up foreigners and anyone else appearing suspicious, arresting them, rescuing them from mobs, or both. [76] [77] Rat: So, Pepys went to command the Lord Mayor to pull down the houses, while King Charles II followed up the Thames in his royal barge to see the fire for himself.