The City of London was full of narrow streets and wooden houses. While brick and stone houses did exist, many houses were made of wood and leaned over into the narrow streets. Most people lived in the same buildings as their businesses so homes often included shops, workshops, industrial premises and stores.
What was London like before the Great Fire of London?
London in 1666
Homes arched out over the street below, almost touching in places, and the city was buzzing with people. Lots of animals lived London too – there were no cars, buses or lorries back then – so as well as houses, the city was full of sheds and yards packed high with flammable hay and straw.
How did the Great Fire of London change architecture?
Streets were widened, as well as new ones added, and the new houses were faced with brick to prevent such a fire from happening again.
What has changed since the Great Fire of London?
The street layout mostly remained the same, and within 10 years the area ravaged by fire had been rebuilt, bringing new architecture to the old city quickly and on a large scale. In all, Wren oversaw the rebuilding of 52 churches, 36 company halls, and the memorial to the great fire, Monument.
What was London like in 1666?
London was a big city even back in the 1660s. A lot of people lived and worked there, but it wasn’t very clean so it was easy to get sick. Overcrowding was a huge problem in London – when people did get sick diseases spread very quickly, and thousands of people died during the Great Plague in 1665-1666.
What was London called before Roman times?
Londinium
Londinium grew up as a vicus, and soon became an important port for trade between Britain and the Roman provinces on the continent.
Did anything survive the Great Fire London?
Although the Great Fire of London destroyed over 13,000 houses, almost 90 churches and even the mighty St Paul’s Cathedral, a handful of survivors managed to escape the flames and can still be seen to this day.
What did they use to stop the fire of London?
There was no fire brigade in London in 1666 so Londoners themselves had to fight the fire, helped by local soldiers. They used buckets of water, water squirts and fire hooks. Equipment was stored in local churches. The best way to stop the fire was to pull down houses with hooks to make gaps or ‘fire breaks’.
What was left after the Great Fire of London?
4 days – the period after the great fire was extinguished that the refugees who had camped in the open fields north and east of the city walls had almost all dispersed. Shanty towns appeared inside and outside the walls, whilst some constructed rudimentary shacks where their homes once stood.
How long did it take to rebuild London after the fire?
6–8 months – the period after the fire that the rebuilding is likely to have commenced, in the spring of 1667. 800 – the approximate number of buildings rebuilt in 1667. 12–15,000 – the approximate number of buildings rebuilt by 1688.
What were houses made of in 1666?
What were houses like in 1666? Houses in 1666 where made from wood and straw. The houses were built close together and these materials are highly flammable.
Why was the Great Fire of London a good thing?
Although the Great Fire was a catastrophe, it did cleanse the city. The overcrowded and disease ridden streets were destroyed and a new London emerged. A monument was erected in Pudding Lane on the spot where the fire began and can be seen today, where it is a reminder of those terrible days in September 1666.
How many animals died in the Great Fire of London?
Aftermath. Estimates say that over 750,000 pets were killed over the course of the event.
Was there a plague before the Great Fire of London?
It is now thought that the plague had largely subsided before the fire took place. Most of the later cases of plague were found in the suburbs, and it was the City of London that was destroyed by the fire. According to the Bills of Mortality, there were in total 68,596 deaths in London from the plague in 1665.
How did we stop the Black Death in the Fire of London?
The Great Fire of London, which happened on 2-6 September 1666, may have helped end the outbreak by killing many of the rats and fleas who were spreading the plague. Though most of the people who died during the Great Plague lived in London, the plague also killed people in other areas of England.
Who helped put out the Great Fire of London?
Coordinated firefighting efforts were simultaneously getting underway. The battle to put out the fire is considered to have been won by two key factors: the strong east wind dropped, and the Tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create effective firebreaks, halting further spread eastward.
What did Rome call England?
Britannia
From “Britannia” to “Angleland”
Britannia, the Roman name for Britain, became an archaism, and a new name was adopted. “Angleland,” the place where the Angles lived, is what we call England today. Latin did not become a common language anywhere in the British Isles.
What does London mean for a girl?
What is the meaning of the name London? The name London is primarily a gender-neutral name of English origin that means From The Great River. Julie London, actress.
What did the Romans call the Brits?
Britanni
People living in the Roman province of Britannia were called Britanni, or Britons. Ireland, inhabited by the Scoti, was never invaded and was called Hibernia.
Does Pudding Lane still exist in London?
Today Pudding Lane in the City of London is a fairly unexciting little street but there’s still a plaque marking the spot where the fire began – or at least ‘near this site’.
Are there any medieval buildings left in London?
St Etheldreda’s Church
This is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in the country and one of the few remaining buildings in London from the reign of Edward I. It was built between 1250 and 1290 as the chapel for the Bishops of Ely, and survived the Great Fire of London because it sat outside the city walls.