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The Great Fire in London is a fire that engulfed the central districts of London from Thursday, September 2, to Sunday, September 5, 1666. The territory of the City of London was exposed to fire inside the ancient Roman city wall. The fire threatened the aristocratic district of Westminster, the Palace of Whitehall and most of the suburban slums, but it could not reach these counties. The fire burned down 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, most of the government buildings. It is believed that the fire made 70 thousand people homeless, with the then population of the central part of London at 80 thousand. It is not known exactly how many people died in the fire, there is information about only a few victims, but many victims were not recorded. In addition, the fire could cremate many, leaving unrecognizable remains.
The fire started in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Padding Lane, shortly after midnight on Sunday, September 2. The fire began to spread rapidly through the City in a westerly direction. Firefighters of that time, as a rule, used the method of destroying buildings around the fire so that the fire would not spread.

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Some people believed the arson was caused by foreigners, presumably Dutch or French. Both countries were enemies of England in the Second Anglo-Dutch War that took place at that time.Some people believed the arson was caused by foreigners, presumably Dutch or French. Both countries were enemies of England in the Second Anglo-Dutch War that took place at that time.

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It is believed that the fire displaced 70,000 people from their homes, while the then population of central London was 80,000[2]. It is not known exactly how many people died in the fire, there are reports of only a few victims, but many victims were not recorded. In addition, the fire could cremate many, leaving unrecognizable remains.

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John Evelyn's plan for the total restructuring of London was never implemented.
The real culprits in the fire have not been found. In 1667, the Royal Council ruled that the fire was an accident caused by "the hand of God, a strong wind and a very dry season." Spurred on by the thirst for finding a scapegoat soon, people declared the French caretaker, a commoner, Robert Hubert, who called himself an agent of the Pope and the instigator of the fire in Westminster, guilty of starting the fire. He later changed his testimony, saying that he had set fire to the bakery on Padding Lane in the beginning. Hubert was found guilty, and, despite pleas for forgiveness, hanged at Tyburn on September 28, 1666. After his death, it became known that he arrived in London 2 days after the fire started. The ideas according to which the Catholics set the fire were later used in political propaganda by opponents of the pro-Catholic regime of Charles II, especially when spreading rumors of a papist conspiracy and at the end of his reign

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It is believed that the plague epidemic in 1665 killed a sixth of the population of London, about 80,000 people, and it is also claimed that the plague did not return to London after the fire, which means that the fire saved the lives of many people by destroying unsanitary houses and rats and fleas living in them. Historians, however, disagree on whether the fire played a real role in this issue. Publications on the Museum of London website support the idea that there is a connection between the fire and the cessation of the disease, but historian Roy Porter notes that the slums, the most unhealthy areas of the city, were not touched by the fire. Also, in alternative epidemiological studies, it was noticed that the disease left other European cities at about the same time

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After two rainy years in 1664 and 1665, there was a drought in London in November 1665, and by the long hot summer of 1666, wooden houses could easily catch fire. The fire at Thomas Farriner's bakery on Padding Lane broke out shortly after midnight on Sunday, September 2. The baker's family went upstairs and was able to move from the upper floor window to the house next door. The maid, who was too scared to try to escape, died and became the first victim of the fire. The neighbors tried to help extinguish the fire, after an hour the parish constables arrived, who offered to destroy the adjacent houses, thereby preventing the further spread of the fire. The householders protested and the Lord Mayor Thomas Bloodworth was summoned, who was the only one who could go against the wishes of the owners of the houses.

When Bloodworth arrived, the flames were burning neighboring houses and crawling towards the paper warehouses. More experienced firefighters demanded the demolition of the houses, but Bloodworth refused on the grounds that most of the premises were rented out and the owners could not be found. Bloodworth, by all accounts, did not have the right skills for the job, he panicked when faced with a sudden emergency. After the city was destroyed, Pepys, looking back on the events, wrote in his diary of September 7, 1666: "People all over the world are shouting about the simplicity [stupidity] of the Lord Mayor in general and especially in the case of the fire, putting everything on him."

On Sunday morning, Pepys, who was an official of the Office of the Navy, visited the Tower to view the fire from the tower; he noted in his diary that there was a fire coming from the east side. Several churches and, according to his estimates, about 300 houses burned down; the flames reached the river front. Houses on London Bridge were on fire. Taking a boat to inspect the destruction on Padding Lane from a close distance, he writes: "Everyone is trying to save their belongings, throwing things into the river or onto lighters. Many do not leave their homes until the fire begins to lick their clothes — then only the unfortunate ones rush into boats or run down the steps to the water." Pepys moves further down the river to Whitehall, "where I was immediately surrounded by courtiers; I gave them a detailed account of why they were confused and reported to the king; I was summoned, and I told the sovereign and the Duke of York everything I had seen with my own eyes, adding that until His Majesty ordered the demolition of the houses, the fire could not be stopped. They were very sad, and the sovereign ordered me to go to the Lord mayor and order them to ruthlessly demolish all the houses that are threatened by fire." Charles's brother James, Duke of York, suggested using the Royal Guard in the fight against fire.