10 Interesting Facts about the Great Fire of London

These following facts about the Great Fire of London will provide you some information to read. The Great Fire of London happened from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666. This was a great conflagration that destroyed the medieval London City. The Great Fire damaged huge numbers of houses, churches and buildings. Let’s check the details below to get more information about the Great Fire of London.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 1: London in the 1660s

At that time, London had become gradually more overcrowded inside its defensive city wall. London was surrounded by a ring of inner suburbs, where most inhabitants lived. 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. Check out facts about the German Flag here

Facts about the Great Fire of London 2: Fire Hazards in the City

Before 1666, the city had experienced several major fires. The fire hazards came from foundries, smithies and glaziers which was located in the crowded area. The cheap building materials (wood, roofing and thatch) and the overcrowded warren of narrow, winding and cobbled alleys increased the fire hazards in this area.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 3: The Trained Bands

Trained Bands was London’s local militia who available for general emergencies. One of their jobs was watching for fire.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 4: Charles II

In 1661, Charles II issued a proclamation forbidding overhanging windows and jetties, but this was largely ignored by the local government. Then in 1665, he sharpened his warning about the risk of fire from the narrowness of the streets and authorized both imprisonment of recalcitrant builders and demolition of dangerous buildings.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 5: Frustration of the Firefighter

During the fire, the firefighters were frustrated to stop the fire. The narrowness of the streets and the blockade of refugees’ belongings made the move of the fire engine useless.  Check out facts about the Forbidden City here

Facts about the Great Fire of London 6: Monument to the Great Fire of London

To commemorate the disaster, Charles asked Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke to design a monument. The Monument to the Great Fire of London was built 61 meters near Pudding Lane.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 7: Special Fire Court

After the fire stopped, a Special Fire Court was made to deal with disputes between tenants and landlords and decide who should rebuild, based on ability to pay.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 8: Fire Damage

The Great Fire of London destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul’s Cathedral and most of the buildings of the City authorities. Approximately, the homes of 70,000 of the City’s 80,000 inhabitants were destroyed in this conflagration.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 9: Deaths

Based on official record, there was only small number of death. However, the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded, while the heat of the fire may have cremated many victims leaving no recognizable remains.

Facts about the Great Fire of London 10: Novel

This great disaster inspired Peter Ackyord to write a novel. The novel entitled The Great Fire of London received generally positive reviews on its publication.

Hopefully you will like those interesting facts about the Great Fire of London and keep reading others facts.