The Fire of London Disputes Act 1666 was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

(18 & 19 Cha. II c. 7) with the

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

"An Act for erecting a Judicature for Determination of Differences touching Houses burned or demolished by reason of the late Fire which happened in London." Following 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 ...

, Parliament established a court to settle all differences arising between landlords and tenants of burnt buildings, overseen by judges of the King's Bench,

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

and Court of Exchequer. Portrait of Sir Matthew Hale Kt

The 22 judges who served under the act included the following: * Sir John Archer * Sir Robert Atkyns * Sir Edward Atkins * Sir Orlando Bridgeman * Sir Samuel Brown * Sir William Ellys *

Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English nobleman, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commo ...

Sir Matthew Hale Sir Matthew Hale (1 November 1609 – 25 December 1676) was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise ''Historia Placitorum Coronæ'', or ''The History of the Pleas of the Crown''. Born to a barrister and ...

* Sir John Kelynge * Sir Timothy Littleton * Sir William Morton * Sir Francis North * Sir Richard Rainsford *Sir Edward Thurland * Sir Christopher Turnor * Sir Edward Turnour * Sir Thomas Twisden * Sir Thomas Tyrrell * Sir John Vaughan * Sir William Wilde * Sir Hugh Wyndham * Sir Wadham Wyndham Portraits of the judges by

John Michael Wright John Michael Wright (May 1617 – July 1694) was an English or Scottish (he signed as both at times) portrait painter in the Baroque style. Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scotland, Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a consider ...

were put up in the Guildhall by the city in gratitude for their services. 'Book 2, Ch. 15: Cheap Ward', A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark (1773), pp. 587–593. Date accessed: 4 April 2011
/ref> These paintings, completed in 1670, hung in London's

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

until it was bombed during World War II; today only two (those of Sir Matthew Hale and Sir

Hugh Wyndham Sir Hugh Wyndham SL (1602 – 24 December 1684), of Silton, near Gillingham, Dorset, was an English Judge of the Common Pleas and a Baron of the Exchequer. Origins He was born at Orchard Wyndham, Somerset, the eighth son of Sir John Wyndh ...

) remain in the

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guild ...

the remainder having been destroyed or dispersed, mainly to the Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn and the Royal Courts of justice. The act was repealed by the

Statute Law Revision Act 1948 The Statute Law Revision Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 5(3) of the Statute Law Revision Act 1950 provided that this Act, so far as it repealed chapter 34 of the Statute of Westminster 1285 (13 Edw. 1 St. ...

References

{{UK legislation The Fire of London occurred in the year 1666 where it burned the whole of the City of London. The fire started in a local bakery by the River Thames. 1666 in law Acts of the Parliament of England 17th century in London 1666 in England Great Fire of London Law in London