In common with all old cities, the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

has experienced numerous serious fires in the course of its history.

Roman

Boudica's revolt

The earliest fire of which there is definitive evidence occurred in 60 AD, during the revolt led by Queen

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. Sh ...

, whose forces burned the town then known as

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cros ...

to the ground. This fire was so destructive that archaeologists still use the clearly defined layer of ash deposited by the flames to date the strata below the city.

The Hadrianic fire

Archaeological evidence suggests that some time in the ten years following the visit of Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

in AD 122, a huge fire or possibly a series of fires destroyed a area of the ancient city. Only a handful of the more robust Roman buildings, such as the Roman fort at

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into t ...

, survived the flames and the city was largely wiped out.

Anglo-Saxon

Another great fire broke out in London in 675, destroying the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

cathedral that was built of wood. The cathedral was rebuilt in stone in the years 675–685. Fires were also reported for 798 and 982. In 989, a fire occurred "that, beginning in

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

, burned down houses and churches all the way to

Ludgate Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished in 1760. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of Fleet Street, Ludgate Circus and Ludgate Square. E ...

Norman

A major fire occurred in London in 1087, at the beginning of the reign of

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The thir ...

. It consumed much of the Norman city.

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a G ...

was the most significant building to be destroyed in this blaze, which also damaged the Palatine tower built by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

on the banks of the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds an ...

so badly that the remains had to be pulled down. Part of the stone from the tower was then used in the reconstruction of the cathedral.

Medieval fires

Before 1666, the phrase "Great Fire of London" was generally used by Londoners to denote one of two major conflagrations in the early medieval period.

The Great Fire of 1133

The first dates to

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...

1133 (14 May), and according to different traditions started either on

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It rep ...

or in the home of the

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

, Gilbert Becket (Beket), a

mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trade ...

and father of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

. This blaze was so severe that it destroyed most of the city between St Paul's and

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the curren ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

. The chronicler

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey i ...

records that the fire destroyed St Paul's Cathedral once again, but this was not the case. One indication of the severity of the fire can be seen in assessments of Gilbert Becket's wealth, based largely on his London property, which declined sharply in its aftermath.

The Great Fire of 1212

The second of the two great medieval fires of London, also known as "the Great Fire of , began on 10 July 1212 in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, the borough directly to the south of London Bridge. The flames destroyed Our Lady of the Canons (

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

, also known as St Mary Overie) and strong southerly winds pushed them towards the bridge, which also caught fire. London Bridge had only just been rebuilt in stone, and the structure itself survived the blaze. However, King John had authorised the construction of houses on the bridge, the rents from which were supposed to pay for its maintenance, and it appears that these were lost to the flames. The earliest account of the blaze appears in the ''Liber de Antiquis Legibus'' ("Book of Ancient Laws"), composed in 1274 and today the oldest book preserved among the records of the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

. This states: According to later traditions, however, numerous casualties were incurred when a mass of citizens from London rushed onto the bridge at the first signs of fire, intending to cross the river to help extinguish the flames. High winds carried red-hot embers across the river and ignited buildings on the north side of the bridge. This fire trapped a large number of people, many of whom died either in the blaze or while attempting to escape on overloaded boats that had come to their aid. One later chronicle by John Stow in 1598 related: An account written in 1603 by John Stow put the number of people killed on London Bridge alone at 3,000, and this figure appears in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, although it is not contemporary. Ben Johnson thinks that this is an exaggeration as, at the time, the whole population of London was no more than 50,000 – his rationale for suggesting that 3,000 deaths out of 50,000 is implausible is not, however, explained. Nevertheless, no reliable evidence survives to allow an accurate estimate of the number of casualties caused by the great fire of 1212, but it is known that the damage done to London Bridge was such that the structure remained a ruin, only partially usable, for years afterwards.

Other notable fires

There were other serious fires in London in 1130 and 1132. Further major fires of London are noted in 13th century London in the years 1220, 1227, and 1299, but none that had the impact of the Great Fire of 1212. Another fire broke out in 1633, destroying 42 premises on the northern third of

and a further eighty buildings on Thames Street. Some of these buildings were not repaired or replaced, and this accidental "firebreak" prevented the bridge from being damaged by the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

three decades later in September 1666. There was another major fire in 1678.

References

{{More footnotes needed, date=February 2008

Bibliography

* Benham, William (1902). ''Old St Paul's Cathedral''. London: Seeley & Co. * Brooke, Christopher, and Gillian Kerr (1975). ''London 800-1216: The Shaping of a City''. London: Secker & Warburg. * Hibbert, Christopher (1989). ''London: The Biography of a City''. London: Longmans. * Lambert, B. (1806). ''Lambert's History of London''. London: T. Hughes. Vol.I pp. 88–9. * Pearce, Patricia (2001). ''Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe''. London: Headline. * Riley, H. T. (1863). ''Chronicles of the Mayors & Sheriffs of London AD 1188 to AD 1274''. London: Trubner. * Watson, Bruce (2001). ''London Bridge: 2,000 Years of a River Crossing''. English Heritage Archaeological Service.

External links

Florilegium urbanum
Charter relating to fire safety precautions in medieval London History of the City of London Fires in London 1087 in England 1135 in England 1212 in England