By mid-morning the fire had breached the wide affluent luxury shopping street of Cheapside. [90] James's firefighters created a large firebreak to the north of the conflagration, [91] although it was breached at multiple points. [92] Through the day, the flames began to move eastward from the neighbourhood of Pudding Lane, straight against the prevailing east wind and towards the Tower of London with its gunpowder stores. [93] The garrison at the Tower took matters into their own hands after waiting all day for requested help from James's official firemen, who were busy in the west. They created firebreaks by blowing up houses on a large scale in the vicinity, halting the advance of the fire. [94] But before they could use fire hooks, the people of Pudding Lane needed to ask the Lord Mayor if they were allowed to – and he had to say ‘yes’. Thomas Farrinor and his wife got out of their bakery in time, but their maid was too frightened to jump from the roof. She was the first to die. Surprisingly, only nine people died as a result of the fire.

The social and economic problems created by the disaster were overwhelming. Flight from London and settlement elsewhere were strongly encouraged by Charles II, who feared a London rebellion amongst the dispossessed refugees. Various schemes for rebuilding the city were proposed, some of them very radical. After the fire, London was reconstructed on essentially the same medieval street plan, which still exists today. [5] London in the 1660s The Great Plague epidemic of 1665 is believed to have killed a sixth of London's inhabitants, or 80,000 people, [156] and it is sometimes suggested that the fire saved lives in the long run by burning down so much unsanitary housing with their rats and their fleas which transmitted the plague, as plague epidemics did not recur in London after the fire. [157] During the Bombay plague epidemic two centuries later, this belief led to the burning of tenements as an antiplague measure. [158] The suggestion that the fire prevented further outbreaks is disputed; the Museum of London identifies this as a common myth about the fire. [159] [158] Hanson, 81. The section "17th-century firefighting" is based on Tinniswood, 46–52, and Hanson, 75–78, unless otherwise indicated.

Activity: Quiz – The Great Fire of London

Source 5 provides evidence of how Charles hoped to improve the city and prevent such a calamity happening again. SP 29/171 Carlson, Jennifer Anne (September 2005). "The economics of fire protection: from the Great Fire of London to Rural/Metro". Economic Affairs. 25 (3): 39–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2005.00570.x.

Pupils could read extracts (or simplified versions) from the diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn. Forrest, Adam (25 January 2016). "How London might have looked: five masterplans after the great fire of 1666". The Guardian. A fire broke out at Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane [a] a little after midnight on Sunday 2 September. The family was trapped upstairs but managed to climb from an upstairs window to the house next door, except for a maidservant who was too frightened to try, thus becoming the first victim. [46] The neighbours tried to help douse the fire; after an hour, the parish constables arrived and judged that the adjoining houses had better be demolished to prevent further spread. The householders protested, and Lord Mayor Sir Thomas Bloodworth was summoned to give his permission. [47]Cooper, Michael (2013). Robert Hooke and the Rebuilding of London. The History Press. p.69. ISBN 978-0-7524-9485-2.