The Great Fire of London and the Tower

The City of London has suffered numerous fires throughout its long history, perhaps none more famous than ‘the ‘Great Fire’ in 1666. Here, Curator Charles Farris explores the Tower of London’s role in this terrible and famous event. 

What was the Great Fire of London? 

The Great Fire of London was a devastating fire which swept through the City of London between 2 and 6 September 1666. The fire destroyed an estimated 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and several of the city’s most famous buildings including the Guildhall and Old St. Paul’s Cathedral – perhaps once the tallest cathedral in medieval England. 

A city vulnerable to fire 

London in the Restoration period was busy, bustling, and vulnerable to fire. Nearly 400,000 people lived in the city – which was by far the largest and richest in the country.  

London was a place of residence, business, and manufacture and the city was tightly packed with shops, workshops, warehouses, and homes. These buildings were generally timber-framed and often thatched. They were largely heated and lit with open fires, candles, and lamps.  

To make matters worse the summer of 1666 had been long and hot, with much of the country experiencing droughts. 

How did the Great Fire of London start? 

The Great Fire of London famously started at the king’s bakery in Pudding Lane near present day London Bridge, sometime after 1am on Sunday 2 September 1666. The bakery was owned by Thomas Farynor (Farriner), whose business supplied the navy with ship’s biscuits.

Farynor would later deny that any fuel had been left to ignite, stating that the oven had been extinguished at about 10pm the previous evening. At midnight, he said, the oven had been rechecked, and doors and windows had been closed to prevent draughts.

The fire spread quickly through the building and the family had to make their escape across neighbouring rooftops. Sadly, the family’s maidservant, whose name was not recorded, did not make it out and was perhaps the first casualty of the fire. The city had yet to establish any form of fire brigades, but watchmen nearby sounded the alarm. 

The fire spreads 

The Great Fire was fanned by strong easterly winds and spread quickly. To make matters worse, authorities were slow to act. The Lord Mayor, Thomas Bludworth refused initial requests to take down buildings as a fire break, asking who would pay the compensation for them. The fire soon reached warehouses on Thames Street where stores of coal, wood, and animal oils and fats burned rapidly. 

The diarist Samuel Pepys was at first dismissive of the danger at hand; after all, fires were a common occurrence in early modern cities. However, soon he realised that this was something extraordinary. After consulting Sir John Robinson, the Lieutenant of the Tower of London, he hurried to Whitehall to report to King Charles II. By the afternoon, the King himself was watching the fire with dismay from the river and more serious plans were being hatched for tackling the blaze. 

Tackling the blaze 

The Great Fire was brought under control only by the incredible team effort of the people of London, helped by soldiers and sailors. Surviving accounts suggest King Charles II played an important part in fighting the fire, taking decisions while the local authorities hesitated. 

Fire hooks were first used to pull down buildings to stop the progress of the fire, but the speed at which the fire was spreading made this work difficult and dangerous.

The Admiral of the Navy agreed to help blow up houses using gunpowder instead, which would greatly speed up this process and create the larger gaps needed to fight the flames. The tactic was successful and by Wednesday 5 September the fire was mostly under control. 

How was the Tower of London saved from the Great Fire?

The Tower of London was full of explosives, and gunpowder was taken from the Ordnance stores and ignited to create fire blocks to the east of the advancing flames. The action saved the Tower and many of its neighbouring East London parishes, such as St Botolph’s Aldgate.

While the fire continued to rage in other parts of the city, more and more affected citizens sought refuge around and inside the fortress and other public buildings.

Distrust and conspiracy 

Enquiries would later conclude the Great Fire of London had begun by accident. However, rumours had quickly spread that arson was to blame while others suspected it was a consequence of sinfulness.

French and Dutch people in London were regarded with particular suspicion and subjected to attacks. One Frenchman, called Robert Hubert from Rouen, allegedly bragged about starting the fire. He was arrested in Romford, north-east of London and hanged, solely based on his own false confession.  

The Crown and the City of London 

The Great Fire of London perhaps proved a good opportunity for the Crown to improve its reputation with the City of London. The Restoration was just six years earlier, and the Crown had had a long and complicated relationship with the City. The King was reportedly seen by several observers covered in soot, passing buckets of water to fireman, and liberally handing out gold coins in reward.

The Tower of London prepares for the future 

The Tower’s officials took pragmatic steps to protect the Tower of London and its gunpowder stores from future threat of fire. Plans for a ‘safety corridor’ around the Tower were revived and unauthorised buildings encroaching on the moat and the western entrance were destroyed. Chimneys were also taken down inside the innermost ward. The Great Fire had reminded everyone of the Tower’s vulnerability. 

Fire brigades created 

In the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, the first Fire Brigades were established. These were organised by insurance companies who established these measures to help protect the buildings of their customers and prevent their own future losses.  

The Tower of London itself followed suit and began to equip itself to tackle future blazes with early forms of fire-engines and other equipment. On several occasions, the quick actions of the Tower community protected the fortress and its neighbours. 

One such occasion came on 7 January 1734. Colonel Adam Wiliamson, the Deputy Governor of the Tower, sent out two fire engines to tackle a serious blaze at some wooden buildings opposite the east Wharf Gate. The fire engines were provided by Colonel Armstrong, the Surveyor of the Ordnance, and accompanied by 30 men with two buckets each, and another 30 to help with crowd control. These efforts helped to extinguish the fire promptly and only two poultry houses were lost. 

A city changed

The Great Fire of 1666 changed the London skyline forever. The appearance of the earlier city can largely only be imagined, including the dozens of medieval churches and hundreds of timber-framed buildings which were once central to community life.  

At the Tower of London, the timber-framed King's House – built 1539-40 – offers a glimpse of what many of the pre-fire buildings of London may once have looked like. But its survival also reminds us of how many similar buildings were destroyed and, with them, how many homes, businesses, livelihoods, and lives were lost to the flames. 

Charles Farris
Public Historian, Tower of London