Great Fire of London Timeline

(2 September 1666 – 5 September 1666)

The Great Fire of London was a devastating fire that swept through central London from 2 to 5 September 1666, destroying around 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and St Paul's Cathedral, yet remarkably causing few recorded deaths and leading to the rebuilding of the city. More Less

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Background and Pre-Fire Conditions

London Bridge noted as a fire deathtrap

1633

London Bridge, the only physical connection between the City and the south side of the River Thames, had been noted as a deathtrap in the major fire of 1633, the most recent serious blaze before 1666. The bridge's houses and narrow passage made evacuation and firefighting extremely difficult.

Image source: London Bridge

John Evelyn criticises London's architecture

1659

In 1659, diarist John Evelyn contrasted London unfavourably with the Baroque magnificence of Paris, calling the English capital a 'wooden, northern, and inartificial congestion of Houses'. His criticism highlighted the crowded, flammable nature of the city's medieval building stock, which would prove so disastrous in 1666.

Image source: John Evelyn

City of London becomes a crowded, polluted hub

1660

By the late 17th century, the City proper—the area bounded by the city wall and the River Thames—covered some 700 acres and was home to about 80,000 people, roughly a quarter of London's inhabitants. The City was traffic-clogged, polluted, and unhealthy, with densely packed timber buildings creating ideal conditions for a catastrophic fire.

City remains a potential threat to Charles II

1660 - 1666

The City of London had been a stronghold of republicanism during the English Civil Wars (1642–1651), and the wealthy and economically dynamic capital still had the potential to be a threat to Charles II, as demonstrated by several republican uprisings in London in the early 1660s. This political tension coloured the king's response to the fire.

Image source: City of London

Charles II proclaims ban on overhanging windows and jetties

1661

In 1661, Charles II issued a proclamation forbidding overhanging windows and jetties, which obstructed airflow and brought upper storeys dangerously close together. However, the proclamation was largely ignored by the local government, and cheap, flammable building practices continued despite centuries-old prohibitions on timber construction and thatched roofs.

Great Plague of London devastates the city

1665 - 1666

The Great Plague epidemic of 1665 is believed to have killed a sixth of London's inhabitants, or 80,000 people. The devastating outbreak of bubonic plague left the already unhealthy City in a dire state, and it is sometimes suggested that the following year's fire saved lives in the long run by burning down unsanitary housing along with the rats and fleas that transmitted plague.

Image source: Great Plague of London

Charles II warns of fire risk from narrow streets

1665

Charles II issued a sharper message in 1665 warning of the risk of fire from the narrowness of the streets. His proclamation authorised both imprisonment of recalcitrant builders and demolition of dangerous buildings, but like earlier proclamations it was largely ignored by the local government.

Image source: Charles II of England

Commemoration and Legacy

Poetry and sermons respond to the Great Fire

1666

Cultural responses to the Great Fire emerged almost immediately in poetry, 'one of the chief modes of media in seventeenth-century England', as well as in religious sermons. Writers and clergy interpreted the disaster as divine judgement and reflected on the city's destruction and rebirth.

Image source: Great Fire of London

Monument to the Great Fire of London erected

1671 - 1676

On Charles II's initiative, a Monument to the Great Fire of London was erected near Pudding Lane between 1671 and 1676. Designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, the Doric column stands 61.5 metres (202 ft) tall and commemorates the devastating blaze.

Image source: Monument to the Great Fire of London

Anti-Catholic inscription added to the Monument

1681

In 1681, accusations against the Catholics were added to the inscription on the Monument, which read, in part, 'Popish frenzy which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched'. The inscription reflected the anti-Catholic sentiment stirred by the Popish Plot.

Anti-Catholic inscription removed from the Monument

1830

The Monument's inscription blaming Catholics for the fire remained until after the passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, when it was removed in 1830 following a successful campaign by City Solicitor Charles Pearson, ending nearly 150 years of official anti-Catholic blame.

Insurance companies form combined firefighting unit

1832

Confusion between parish and private firefighting efforts led the insurance companies in 1832 to form a combined firefighting unit. This organisation would eventually become the London Fire Brigade, a lasting institutional legacy of the firefighting lessons drawn from the Great Fire.

Image source: London Fire Brigade

Novel Old St. Paul's published

1841

William Harrison Ainsworth's 1841 novel Old St. Paul's was a notable later cultural work featuring the Great Fire, dramatising the catastrophe against the backdrop of the plague year and the destruction of the old cathedral, helping to keep the memory of the fire alive in Victorian popular culture.

Image source: Old St. Paul's (novel)

Novel Forged in the Fire published

2006

Forged in the Fire, a 2006 novel, is among the more recent cultural works featuring the Great Fire of London, continuing a long tradition of literary responses to the catastrophe that began with contemporary poetry and sermons in the seventeenth century.

Television drama The Great Fire airs

2014

The 2014 television drama The Great Fire brought the story of the 1666 blaze to modern audiences, depicting the outbreak and spread of the fire and the efforts of Londoners to combat it, as part of the ongoing cultural legacy of the disaster.

Royal Mail issues Great Fire anniversary stamp

2016

In 2016, the Royal Mail issued a stamp depicting Christopher Wren presenting his plan for rebuilding London. It was one of six stamps in a set commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London.

Image source: Royal Mail

Musical Bumblescratch performed for 350th anniversary

2016

The musical Bumblescratch was performed as part of the commemorations of the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, joining other cultural works in marking three and a half centuries since the blaze that reshaped the capital.

Image source: Bumblescratch

Musical Bumblescratch performed for 350th anniversary

Aftermath and Rebuilding

Rebuilding of London Act 1666 passed

1666

The Rebuilding of London Act 1666 banned wood from the exterior of buildings, regulated the cost of building materials and the wages of workers, and set out a rebuilding period of three years, after which the land could be sold. The act transformed the architectural character of the rebuilt City.

Image source: Rebuilding of London Act 1666

Losses from the fire estimated at £9–10 million

Sep 1666

The monetary value of the loss caused by the Great Fire was estimated at around 9–10 million pounds, equivalent to £2.03 billion in 2025. The destruction of homes, warehouses, and goods represented an enormous economic blow to the City and the nation.

Frenchman Robert Hubert convicted of starting the fire

Oct 1666

Robert Hubert, a French watchmaker, was convicted of starting the Great Fire despite some misgivings about his fitness to plead. His confession and trial reflected the widespread search for a scapegoat, even though the fire had almost certainly begun accidentally at Farriner's bakery.

Image source: Robert Hubert

Robert Hubert hanged at Tyburn

Oct 29, 1666

Robert Hubert was hanged at Tyburn on 29 October 1666 after being convicted of starting the Great Fire. It later became clear that he could not have started the fire, as his ship had not yet reached England when it began, making his execution a tragic miscarriage of justice.

Strict new fire regulations imposed in London

1667

In 1667 strict new fire regulations were imposed in London to reduce the risk of future fire and allow any fire that did occur to be more easily extinguished. These rules shaped building standards in the capital for generations to come.

Parliament receives report on the Great Fire

Jan 22, 1667

A parliamentary committee's report on the Great Fire was presented to Parliament on 22 January 1667. The report informed subsequent legislation aimed at rebuilding the devastated City and reducing the risk of future fires.

Fire of London Disputes Act establishes Fire Court

Feb 1667 - Dec 1668

A special Fire Court was set up from February 1667 to December 1668 under the Fire of London Disputes Act 1666. The court aimed to deal with disputes between tenants and landlords and to decide who should rebuild, based on ability to pay, enabling reconstruction to proceed smoothly.

Fire Court reconvenes

1670 - Feb 1676

The Fire Court sat for a second period from 1670 to February 1676, authorised by the Fire of London Disputes Act 1666 and the Rebuilding of London Act 1670. It continued to resolve disputes between tenants and landlords over rebuilding obligations as the City's reconstruction progressed.

Image source: Fire of London Disputes Act 1666

Most private rebuilding of the City complete

1671

Most private rebuilding in the City of London was complete by 1671, just five years after the fire. 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 as the city's population had not yet fully returned.

City of London Corporation defaults on its loans

1683

The City of London Corporation borrowed heavily to fund its rebuilding after the Great Fire, and in 1683 it defaulted on its loans. As a result, the Corporation had its privileges stripped by Charles II, a severe political and financial consequence of the reconstruction effort.

Image source: City of London Corporation

The Fire Itself

Great Fire of London begins at Farriner's bakery

Sep 2, 1666

A short time after midnight on Sunday, 2 September 1666, a fire broke out at Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane. The blaze quickly spread through the densely built, timber-framed City, beginning three days of destruction that would gut the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall.

Great Fire rages through the City of London

Sep 2, 1666 - Sep 5, 1666

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that burned from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666. It gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall while also extending past the wall to the west, destroying over 13,000 houses and countless other buildings.

Cart hire prices soar as Londoners flee

Sep 3, 1666

Hiring a cart had cost a couple of shillings the week before the fire; on Monday, 3 September, it rose to as much as £40, a fortune equivalent to roughly £133,000 in 2021. Desperate Londoners paid exorbitant prices to cart their belongings to safety as the flames advanced.

Key Facts

The fire began in the early hours of Sunday, 2 September 1666, in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane.
A long, dry summer followed by strong easterly winds allowed the flames to spread rapidly through London's tightly packed wooden buildings.
Over four days, the fire destroyed approximately 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St Paul's Cathedral, and most of the buildings within the old city walls.
Despite the massive destruction, official records list only six verified deaths, though some historians believe the true toll was higher.
The rebuilding effort, guided by architects like Christopher Wren, introduced brick and stone construction and wider streets, transforming London's cityscape.

Source

This Great Fire of London timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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