Dear codymagic-ga
I shall answer directly some of your questions and refer you to a
number of websites, but your best source of information is a number of
recent books, a London library where many of the primary sources are
stored, a Museum, and for a breath of fresh air, a little bit of
sightseeing.
The Great Fire of London and its consequences has always been of great
interest to historians, but it is only until recently that how the
‘common’ people fared in the turmoil following the fire has been of
interest to the historian. Naturally the available primary sources are
mostly written by the upper strata of the society but from these
historians are gleaning evidence of how the ordinary people responded
to the disaster. Many of the latest books on the fire contain their
research and from these you will be able to obtain references for the
original documents and their location. Very few have been placed on
the internet.
The Fire
As you know, the Great Fire of London began on the night of Sunday,
September 2, 1666, as a small fire on Pudding Lane, in the bakeshop of
Thomas Farynor, baker to King Charles II. It quickly spread quickly
destroying the wooden buildings of the city. By Wednesday it began to
break up but it was not until Thursday it was finally extinguished. An
area of one and a half miles by half a mile lay in ashes. 373 acres
inside the city walls and 63 acres outside. 87 churches destroyed
(including St. Paul's Cathedral) and 13,200 houses at a cost of £10
million. In all this destruction, only 6 people are thought to have
been killed (other sources state 5 and 16).
A good map showing the area of destruction is on:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/academic/english/murray/Restoration/History/GreatFire.html#
Channel 4, a UK television station, recently aired an excellent
documentary on the fire. Their web site has extracts from the diary
of Samuel Pepys, Secretary of the Admiralty which carries the best
account of the fire.
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/fire/story1.html
It also contains another account by John Evelyn, another diarist.
Additional eyewitness extracts for both men are at:
http://www.pepys.info/ and these may contain information on the
re-building.
Evelyn’s biography is at
http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/evelynnotes.html
The full text of Peyps’ diary is at
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4200
You can watch an interactive flash presentation of how London burned
at http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/fire/firemap.html
The London Gazette for 8 September 1666 carries a report of the Fire.
(Image of original document)
http://www.adelpha.com/~davidco/History/fire1.htm
The Aftermath
The initial period after the fire was obviously extremely traumatic
for the poor people.
“There is no exact record of how many people died because of the fire.
But many died later from exposure to cold weather and the lack of good
housing.
Thousands of people lost their homes and were forced onto the street.
Some parishes helped by providing food and accommodation. The King
provided some army tents and food and permitted temporary houses to be
built on open spaces north of the city wall. Churches and public
buildings were also used to store property.
Many people went to live in areas outside of the City walls such as
Moorfields and Highgate to the north and Soho fields to the west.
Charles II gave orders for these parishes to provide cheap lodgings
and allow Londoners to trade in the local areas.
Many Londoners came back to the City. Rents were high in the surviving
houses. The poor were forced to use their cellars or to set up
shelters of reclaimed brick and timber on the ruins of their houses.”
http://www.museum-london.org.uk/frames.asp?http%3A//www.museum-london.org.uk/MOLsite/templates/learn001.asp%3Fpage_Name%3Dfire_investigate
The number made homeless was said to be 200,000 people.
“Of these refugees Dryden wrote the poem Annus Mirabilis.
The most in fields like herded beasts lie down
To dews obnoxious on the grassy floor,
And while their babes in sleep their sorrows drown,
Sad parents watch the remnant of their store.
(James Leasor, The Plague and The Fire, George Allen & Unwin LTD 1962,
p.221.)
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/academic/english/murray/Restoration/History/HistBack.html#fire
There are reference to people being placed in debtor’s prisons on
various sites but no data is supplied. Once I again I refer you to
books and the original documents.
Online Diary of Ralph Josselin from 1617 to 1671
http://www-earlscolne.socanth.cam.ac.uk/docs/diary
The diary of the vicar of Earls Colne in Essex, one of the richest
sources for 17th-century English social history, talks about the Great
Fire and its impact. (I did have trouble with this link. It may be a
temporary fault).
The Re-Building
This again has been the focus of much interest by historians because
of the involvement of the architect Wren.
The speed of rebuilding was swift by 1671 9,000 houses and several
major public buildings were a complete. Work had begun on the 50 new
churches and designed by Christopher Wren and construction on St
Paul's began in 1675. In 1676 a great fire broke out South of the
river destroying at least 624 houses.
New building regulations were passed in 1667 'for the better
regulation, uniformity, and gracefulness of architecture' and which
required fire prevention measures. The Act set out to prevent a
re-occurrence of the disaster and for the first time surveyors were
appointed to ensure its requirements were not violated.
“With 9,000 homes to be rebuilt, London had a labour shortage. The
muscle was supplied by migrant workers who came from other parts of
Britain and from abroad. Some settled in the City or in the cheaper
areas to the east – Spitalfields and Tower Hamlets. Others went to
suburbs that were growing up to the west of the City, such as Seven
Dials and Soho.
Areas became known for certain crafts or trades, as furniture-makers,
clock- makers, tailors and leather-workers supplied the market with
their goods. In the 1680s, French Huguenots, fleeing religious
persecution, brought with them skills ranging from silver-working to
millinery. London's population rose steadily while that of other
European cities fell, until, by 1700, it was the largest city in
northern Europe. And it was beginning to develop along lines of
demarcation that still persist – the City for business, the West End
for wealthy homes and shops and the East End for the hard-up. “
- Channel 4 (as above)
Recommended reading – you’ll find these and others at the library
detailed below or at a good bookshop.
Clout, Hugh, ed. The Times History of London.
London: Times Books, 1999.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. The Great Fire of London : An Illustrated
Account.
London: New English Library, 1986.
Lang, Jane. Rebuilding St. Paul's after the Great Fire of London.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956.
Porter, Stephen. The Great Fire of London.
Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing 1996.
Schofield, John. The Building of London : From the Conquest to the
Great Fire.
British Museum. London 1984
Weiss, David A. The Great Fire of London. Illustrated by Joseph Papin.
The Dreadful Judgement: The true story of the Great Fire of London by
Neil Hanson (Doubleday, 2001) £16.99
A panorama of the Great Fire of London and the human stories of those
who lived through it.
The London Rich: The creation of a great city, from 1666 to the
present by Peter Thorold (Penguin, 2001) £12.99
Thorold looks at the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire and
gives an account of social history from 1666 to the present.
Library
The Guildhall Library is owned by the City Of London. It has a vast
manuscript section, newspapers, books and pictures. Excellent service
and good research facilities. I’ve used it often. No readers ticket
required. (Just round the corner from the newly discovered Roman
Amphitheater)
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/leisure_heritage/libraries_archives_museums_galleries/city_london_libraries/guildhall_lib.htm
Museum
Museum Of London. Very good exhibition on the Great Fire of London and
the re-building of London. I recommend a visit.
http://www.museum-london.org.uk/
Finally, visit The Monument (Monument Street, City of London). Wren
was responsible for building the Monument (1671-79), a memorial
commemorating the fire. The Monument is a slender column 202 feet
high, which is the exact distance from its base to the site of the
baker's shop where the fire began.
I hope this has been of some assistance.
Please ask for clarification of any part of this research, or if the
links do not work, before rating the answer.
answerfinder-ga
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