The Great Fire of London

We have a special visitor from Sir William Petty today. We went back in time to 1666 to learn all about The Great Fire of London.

The Great Fire of London started in a bakery, near Pudding Lane on the night of 2nd September, 1666.

The fire swept through London for four days. It destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and even St Paul’s Cathedral.

People had to use horse-drawn carts to bring water up to the burning buildings because there were no proper fire engines.

People tried to stop the fire spreading by blowing up buildings. This left a gap called a firebreak.

So many homes were destroyed that King Charles II ordered the city to be rebuilt with houses made of stone and brick.