HistoryGreat Fire of London, 1666
A dark September night on a narrow London street in 1666 — timber houses packed tightly together glow orange as flames leap from rooftop to rooftop, thick smoke billowing toward the River Thames, while the scribe crouches beside a stone step and opens a large leather-bound journal to record every detail of the disaster.
- Retell the main events of the Great Fire of London in the correct order.
- Explain how the fire started and why it spread so quickly through the city.
- Identify at least one change made to London after the fire to prevent future fires.
Key terms
- firebreak
- A gap made by removing buildings so flames have nothing to cross and stop spreading
- timber
- Wood used as a building material, which catches fire easily when dry
- Rebuilding Act
- The 1667 law that required London's new buildings to be made of brick or stone
- eyewitness account
- A record written by a person who personally saw an event happen
Why It Spread So Fast
Seventeenth-century London was packed with timber-framed houses standing wall to wall along narrow lanes. Dry wood burns easily, and the tight gaps let flames leap from roof to roof. A summer drought had left everything parched, and strong winds fanned the fire. Together these conditions turned a single bakery blaze into a disaster that consumed much of the city in days.
Learning From Disaster
To stop the fire, people created firebreaks by pulling down rows of houses so the flames had nothing to cross. Afterward, leaders studied why it had spread and passed the Rebuilding Act of 1667, requiring brick and stone instead of wood. This shows how communities can turn a catastrophe into lasting safety improvements by addressing the real cause.
Worked examples
Why did rebuilding in brick make London safer?
- Identify the cause of the disaster: the city was built of dry, tightly packed timber that burned fast.
- Ask what would change that: a material that does not catch fire easily.
- Connect to the rule: the Rebuilding Act required brick and stone instead of wood.
- Conclude the effect: with non-flammable buildings, future fires could no longer leap so easily across the city.
Answer: Brick and stone do not burn like wood, so rebuilding with them attacked the very cause that had let the fire spread.
Activity
Put these events from the Great Fire of London in the correct order.
Practice
Put the main events of the Great Fire of London in the correct order.
Explain why pulling down houses actually helped stop the fire.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Thousands of people died in the Great Fire.Very few deaths were recorded; most people escaped, though about 80,000 lost their homes.
Check your understanding
Where did the Great Fire of London begin in 1666?
Why did the Great Fire spread so quickly through London?
After the fire, what materials did the new rules say London's buildings must be made from?
Recap
The Great Fire of London began in a Pudding Lane bakery in 1666 and spread fast through dry, crowded timber houses; firebreaks stopped it, and the Rebuilding Act later required safer brick and stone construction.
Reflect
What disasters today have led to new safety rules, and why?