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 it like in London in 1666?
In 1666, a devastating fire swept through London, destroying 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, The Royal Exchange, Guildhall and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
What was London like in 1666 for kids?
The London summer of 1666 had been very hot with no rain. As a result, the city was very dry, which meant the wooden houses and buildings caught fire extremely easily. In addition, there were many warehouses nearby which were full of flammable materials such as wood and oil.
What was London like in 1666 before the fire?
London was a busy city in 1666. It was very crowded. The streets were narrow and dusty. The houses were made of wood and very close together.
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.
What were the streets like in 1666?
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 jobs did people do 1666?
Price demonstrated that the commonest occupations in London in 1666, based on Hearth Tax returns pertaining to 2000 householders (out of a total of 39000), were, in decreasing order, Merchant-Tailor, Seaman, Goldsmith, Victualler, Shoemaker, Silkman, Cooper, Haberdasher, Alehouse-Keeper, Porter, Draper, Druggist,
Did they have electricity in 1666?
In 1666, fires in London were quite common. Homes didn’t have electricity, so real flames were used for lighting, cooking, and heating homes.
How long did London burn for in 1666?
five days
The Great Fire of London is one of the most well-known disasters in London’s history. It began on 2 September 1666 and lasted just under five days. One-third of London was destroyed and about 100,000 people were made homeless.
How did people react to the Great Fire of London?
People scrabbled to escape with their belongings and thousands found themselves homeless. Less scrupulous people took th. Samuel Pepys’s maid woke him to tell him about the fire.
What did the Great Fire of London smell like?
The Great Fire of London started in a street more famous for disgusting smells of gutted animal remains, not the fragrant aromas of baking bread.
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 stopped the Great Fire of London?
The fire reached its peak on 4 September 1666, spreading from the Temple in the west to near the Tower of London in the east. Gunpowder was used to blow up houses. It successfully stopped the fire around the Tower of London and Cripplegate.
How long did it take to rebuild London after the Great 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 is the year 1666 known for?
September 2-6: The Great Fire of London breaks out.
What did houses look like in the 1600’s?
They were rectangle shaped homes that were symmetrical. They typically had windows across the front that were aligned both vertically and horizontally. They either had one large chimney in the center of the house or two chimneys, one on each end. Many Georgian Colonials were built with brick and had white wooden trim.
What were the houses built out of after the Great Fire of London?
Walls were built from flammable plaster and lath; roofs often of thatch. ‘Before the Fire of London, Anno 1666’, Daniel Defoe wrote decades later, remembering the city of his youth, ‘the Buildings looked as if they had been formed to make one general Bonfire’.
What did the homeless people do after the Great Fire of London?
As the city burned, with fire leaping from street to street through sparks blown on the wind, the rich took refuge with relatives, moved to their country homes outside the city, rented new houses – rents soared in the aftermath – and eventually rebuilt their homes and businesses.
How were houses built after the Great Fire of London?
The City of London authorities rented out plots of land on fields and other open areas that they owned so that people could build temporary homes. Shanty towns grew up in places like Moorfields, where you could rent a plot for between £7 and £36.
What did boys wear for the Great Fire London?
Boys: A large plain shirt with a large collar and a belt or cord around the waist; a plain waistcoat, if you have one; and plain, dark, baggy trousers (such as track suit bottoms) tucked into long socks.
How many people died in 1666?
On Sunday, September 2, 1666, London caught on fire. The city burned through Wednesday, and the fire—now known as The Great Fire of London—destroyed the homes of 70,000 out of the 80,000 inhabitants of the city. But for all that fire, the traditional death toll reported is extraordinarily low: just six verified deaths.