The Great Fire of London

by StephenPorter (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1996

  $3.80

  Published to mark its 330th anniversary, an account of the Fire of London, which destroyed 13,000 houses and 87 churches, despite detailed fire precautions and fire-fighting arrangements being in place. Examines the events that led up to and during the tragedy and the proposals to rebuild the city.

• Used

  Paperback
  2001

  $3.25

  The Great Fire of London was the greatest catastrophe of its kind in Western Europe. Although detailed fire precautions and fire-fighting arrangements were in place, the fire raged for four days and destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches and 44 of the City of London's great livery halls. The 'great fire' of 1666 closely followed the 'great plague' of 1665; as the antiquary Anthony Wood wrote, together these disasters left London 'much impoverished, discontented, afflicted, cast downe'. In this comprehensive and fully illustrated account, Stephen Porter examines the background to 1666, events leading up to and during the fire, the proposals to rebuild the city and the progress of the five-year programme which followed. He places the fire firmly in context, revealing not only its destructive impact on London but also its implications for town planning, building styles and fire precautions both in the capital and provincial towns.