On September 2nd 1666 a fire started in the King‘s bakery in Pudding Lane near London Bridge. Fires were quite a common occurrence in those days and were soon quelled. Indeed, when the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Thomas Bloodworth was woken up to be told about the fire, he replied “Pish! A woman might piss it out!“

However that summer had been very hot and there had been no rain for weeks, so consequently the wooden houses and buildings were tinder dry. The fire soon took hold. Efforts to bring the fire under control by using buckets quickly failed. Panic began to spread through the city.

By the 4th September half of London was in flames. Absolute chaos reigned. The King himself joined the fire fighters, passing buckets of water to them in an attempt to quell the flames, but the fire raged on.

Eventually the fire was brought under control, and by the 6th September had been extinguished altogether. Only one fifth of London was left standing!