Okla-homey
9/2/2006, 07:12 AM
September 2, 1666: Great Fire of London begins
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5533/cccgreatfireoflondon1666victorianengravingaftervis schfw6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
340 years ago today, in the early morning hours, the Great Fire of London breaks out in the house of King Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. It soon spread to Thames Street, where warehouses filled with combustibles and a strong easterly wind transformed the blaze into an inferno.
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4241/cccroll6frame31yt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Called "Pudding Lane" because it was the heart of ye olde bakery district where the puddings were baked.
When the Great Fire finally was extinguished four days later on September 6, more than 80% of London was destroyed. Miraculously, only 16 people were known to have died.
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7933/cccfiremapmu7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Great Fire of London was a disaster waiting to happen. London of 1666 was a city of medieval houses made mostly of oak timber. Some of the poorer houses had walls covered with tar, which kept out the rain but made the structures more vulnerable to fire.
Streets were narrow, houses were crowded together, and the firefighting methods of the day consisted of neighborhood bucket brigades armed with pails of water and primitive hand pumps. Citizens were instructed to check their homes for possible dangers, but there were many instances of carelessness.
So it was on the evening of September 1, 1666, when Thomas Farrinor, the king's baker, failed to properly extinguish his oven. He went to bed, and sometime around midnight sparks from the smoldering embers ignited firewood lying beside the oven. Before long, his house was in flames. Farrinor managed to escape with his family and a servant out an upstairs window, but a bakery assistant died in the flames--the first victim.
Sparks from Farrinor's bakery leapt across the street and set fire to straw and fodder in the stables of the Star Inn. From the Inn, the fire spread to Thames Street, where riverfront warehouses were packed full with flammable materials such as tallow for candles, lamp oil, spirits, and coal. These stores lit aflame or exploded, transforming the fire into an uncontrollable blaze. Bucket-bearing locals abandoned their futile efforts at firefighting and rushed home to evacuate their families and save their valuables.
It had been a hot, dry summer, and a strong wind further encouraged the flames. As the conflagration grew, city authorities struggled to tear down buildings and create a firebreak, but the flames repeatedly overtook them before they could complete their work.
People fled into the Thames River dragging their possessions, and the homeless took refuge in the hills on the outskirts of London. Light from the Great Fire could be seen 30 miles away. On September 5, the fire slackened, and on September 6 it was brought under control. That evening, flames again burst forth in the Temple (the legal district), but the explosion of buildings containing gunpowder extinguished the flames.
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7371/cccpepys3xq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Great Fire of London engulfed 13,000 houses, nearly 90 churches, and scores of public buildings. The old St. Paul's Cathedral was destroyed, as were many other historic landmarks.
An estimated 100,000 people were left homeless. Within days, King Charles II set about rebuilding his capital. The great architect Sir Christopher Wren designed a new St. Paul's Cathedral with dozens of smaller new churches ranged around it like satellites.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2288/ccc049cd2sv0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9039/cccpic10stpaulsgalleryas8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
St Paul's engulfed in smoke from the WWII London Luftwaffe "blitz"
To prevent future fires, most new houses were built of brick or stone and separated by thicker walls. Narrow alleyways were forbidden and streets were made wider. Permanent fire departments, however, did not become a fixture in London until well into the 18th century.
In the 1670s, a memorial column commemorating the Great Fire of London was erected near the source of the calamity. Known as the Memorial, it was probably designed by the architect Robert Hooke, though some sources credit Christopher Wren.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4338/ccclonej2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The monument, 61.5 meters high representing its exact distance from the site of Thomas Farrinor's bakery oven where the fire began
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9250/cccinsidemonumentcr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A spiral staircase inside the monument leads to an observation platform from which tourists are afforded a lovely view of London
The column stands 202 feet above the pavement and features sculpture and engravings that tell the story of the conflagration. An official inquiry into the Great Fire concluded that "the hand of God, a great wind, and a very dry season" caused it.
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7886/cccmonumentvy7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Monument frieze
In 1986, London's bakers finally apologized to the lord mayor for setting fire to the city. Members of the Worshipful Company of Bakers gathered on Pudding Lane and unveiled a plaque acknowledging that one of their own, Thomas Farrinor, was guilty of causing the Great Fire of 1666.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1856/cccbakerspe8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
Arms of the Worshipful Company of Bakers. A medieval guild mentioned in 1155 and receiving its first charter in 1486 for bakers of white bread. Bakers of brown bread were incorporated in 1569. Severe penalties were inflicted on inefficient bakers, the control powers lasting until 1805. Nowadays one-third of the livery of over 350 is connected with the trade. Oversees bakery trade training and awards scholarships at the City and Guilds of London Institution, and to members of the Federation of Bakery Students and to students at the National Bakery School at South Bank University.
http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/9295/insane7zoaa5.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5533/cccgreatfireoflondon1666victorianengravingaftervis schfw6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
340 years ago today, in the early morning hours, the Great Fire of London breaks out in the house of King Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. It soon spread to Thames Street, where warehouses filled with combustibles and a strong easterly wind transformed the blaze into an inferno.
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4241/cccroll6frame31yt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Called "Pudding Lane" because it was the heart of ye olde bakery district where the puddings were baked.
When the Great Fire finally was extinguished four days later on September 6, more than 80% of London was destroyed. Miraculously, only 16 people were known to have died.
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7933/cccfiremapmu7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Great Fire of London was a disaster waiting to happen. London of 1666 was a city of medieval houses made mostly of oak timber. Some of the poorer houses had walls covered with tar, which kept out the rain but made the structures more vulnerable to fire.
Streets were narrow, houses were crowded together, and the firefighting methods of the day consisted of neighborhood bucket brigades armed with pails of water and primitive hand pumps. Citizens were instructed to check their homes for possible dangers, but there were many instances of carelessness.
So it was on the evening of September 1, 1666, when Thomas Farrinor, the king's baker, failed to properly extinguish his oven. He went to bed, and sometime around midnight sparks from the smoldering embers ignited firewood lying beside the oven. Before long, his house was in flames. Farrinor managed to escape with his family and a servant out an upstairs window, but a bakery assistant died in the flames--the first victim.
Sparks from Farrinor's bakery leapt across the street and set fire to straw and fodder in the stables of the Star Inn. From the Inn, the fire spread to Thames Street, where riverfront warehouses were packed full with flammable materials such as tallow for candles, lamp oil, spirits, and coal. These stores lit aflame or exploded, transforming the fire into an uncontrollable blaze. Bucket-bearing locals abandoned their futile efforts at firefighting and rushed home to evacuate their families and save their valuables.
It had been a hot, dry summer, and a strong wind further encouraged the flames. As the conflagration grew, city authorities struggled to tear down buildings and create a firebreak, but the flames repeatedly overtook them before they could complete their work.
People fled into the Thames River dragging their possessions, and the homeless took refuge in the hills on the outskirts of London. Light from the Great Fire could be seen 30 miles away. On September 5, the fire slackened, and on September 6 it was brought under control. That evening, flames again burst forth in the Temple (the legal district), but the explosion of buildings containing gunpowder extinguished the flames.
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7371/cccpepys3xq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Great Fire of London engulfed 13,000 houses, nearly 90 churches, and scores of public buildings. The old St. Paul's Cathedral was destroyed, as were many other historic landmarks.
An estimated 100,000 people were left homeless. Within days, King Charles II set about rebuilding his capital. The great architect Sir Christopher Wren designed a new St. Paul's Cathedral with dozens of smaller new churches ranged around it like satellites.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2288/ccc049cd2sv0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9039/cccpic10stpaulsgalleryas8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
St Paul's engulfed in smoke from the WWII London Luftwaffe "blitz"
To prevent future fires, most new houses were built of brick or stone and separated by thicker walls. Narrow alleyways were forbidden and streets were made wider. Permanent fire departments, however, did not become a fixture in London until well into the 18th century.
In the 1670s, a memorial column commemorating the Great Fire of London was erected near the source of the calamity. Known as the Memorial, it was probably designed by the architect Robert Hooke, though some sources credit Christopher Wren.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4338/ccclonej2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The monument, 61.5 meters high representing its exact distance from the site of Thomas Farrinor's bakery oven where the fire began
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9250/cccinsidemonumentcr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A spiral staircase inside the monument leads to an observation platform from which tourists are afforded a lovely view of London
The column stands 202 feet above the pavement and features sculpture and engravings that tell the story of the conflagration. An official inquiry into the Great Fire concluded that "the hand of God, a great wind, and a very dry season" caused it.
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7886/cccmonumentvy7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Monument frieze
In 1986, London's bakers finally apologized to the lord mayor for setting fire to the city. Members of the Worshipful Company of Bakers gathered on Pudding Lane and unveiled a plaque acknowledging that one of their own, Thomas Farrinor, was guilty of causing the Great Fire of 1666.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1856/cccbakerspe8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
Arms of the Worshipful Company of Bakers. A medieval guild mentioned in 1155 and receiving its first charter in 1486 for bakers of white bread. Bakers of brown bread were incorporated in 1569. Severe penalties were inflicted on inefficient bakers, the control powers lasting until 1805. Nowadays one-third of the livery of over 350 is connected with the trade. Oversees bakery trade training and awards scholarships at the City and Guilds of London Institution, and to members of the Federation of Bakery Students and to students at the National Bakery School at South Bank University.
http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/9295/insane7zoaa5.jpg