2nd September: The Great Fire of London

In the early hours of September 2nd 1666, In a bakery in Pudding Lane, the Great Fire of London began. 10 things you might not know about the Great Fire:

1. The bakery in question belonged to a baker named Thomas Farriner.
2. Farriner got his family out of the building through an upstairs window into the house next door, except for a servant who was too frightened to climb out and who became the first person killed by the fire.
3. Despite destroying 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St Paul's Cathedral and most of the buildings of the City authorities and leaving 70,000 people homeless, the official death toll was only in single figures. More recently, though, historians have disputed this, arguing that many poor people would not have reported any deaths, and that there would be so little left of anyone caught in the middle of the conflagration that no bodies would be found.
4. The fire raged for four days. It might have been put out sooner, but for the dithering of the Lord Mayor of the time, Sir Thomas Bloodworth. Demolishing houses around the fire so it would not spread was the accepted way of controlling such a fire, but Bloodworth refused to give the order to do so on the grounds that the houses were rented and nobody knew the whereabouts of the owners. Eventually the King himself intervened and gave the order, "Spare no houses", but by now the fire had spread and the streets were clogged with people running away from it.
5. People feared that the fire may have been started by foreign terrorists - in these times the French and the Dutch were blamed. People feared that having started the fire, French and Dutch immigrants were marching towards the crippled city to murder, rape and pillage. Any foreigner unfortunate to be in the streets at the time was set upon by the mob until troops managed to calm the riot. Things don't change much, do they?
6. The need to find someone to blame for what was probably an accidental oven malfunction continued after the fire. A French watchmaker, Robert Hubert, who had learning difficulties, confessed to starting the fire and was hanged, despite misgivings about his fitness to plead.  Only after his death did it come to light that he could not possibly be guilty as he only arrived in London two days after the fire started.
7. The fire was so intense that it created its own weather system by the rapid uprush of hot air through narrow streets, creating a chimney effect. Strong winds rushed into the vacuum left at ground level, which also brought in more oxygen to fan the flames.
8. We know what happened during the fire thanks to two diarists of the time, Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, who not only recorded their observations and reactions to what was going on, but made great efforts to get out and about in the city to find out what was happening.
9. Although there were a number of proposals to radically change London in the rebuilding, possibly giving it a more continental feel, none of the proposals were implemented, and the city was rebuilt according the the exact same street plan as before, albeit with some improvements to safety and hygiene.
10. Charles II had a monument erected near Pudding Lane to commemorate the fire. Designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, it still stands today, although an anti-Catholic inscription was removed in the 19th century. It is 200 feet tall (61 metres) and has a tube station named after it. It's possible to climb to the top for great views of London landmarks.