the great fire of london

[natasha]

what was a social cause of the great fire of london

[Kanewood]

Started at the bakery in Pudding Lane

[Kanewood]

The houses were made of wood and pitch. If you do a search on the Great Fire of London, you will come up with a lot of information.

[Octavius]

Also, the poor really had nowhere to go and no means of getting there, so they ended up staying in their houses �as long as till the very fire touched them� and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs by the waterside to another. A great proportion of the country�s wealth was lost (five sixths of the city damaged, 13,200 houses, 84 churches, 44 livery company halls and many public buildings). Over 100,000 people were made homeless and thousands were ruined financially.

There were only 6 recorded fatalities.

Following the fire, Charles II formulated some of the first fire prevention and Building Control legislation when it was order that there should be regulated distances between buildings.

[Octavius]

The available fire protection was the buckets, hooks and squirts, under the nominal charge of parish officers, the lead and wooden water pipes in the streets, a few primitive fire engines and the new building regulations (which were partly un-enforced). The person in charge was the Lord Mayor, his Council and Officers.

Six hours after the outbreak of the fire, 300 houses were alight and the fire was burning slowly into the city centre. By noon, orders were given for houses around the perimeter to be pulled down to make a fire break.

There was some protection, but it was largely ineffective.

[josie48]

I went to Pudding Lane in the 90's and went to a shop which was the original bakery. We were taken through to the back of the shop to see the remains of the ancient but rusty ovens in the wall ,interesting.