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The Great Fire of London

Five days in September 1666 on a timeline: how a bakery fire in a dry wooden city became a catastrophe, who was blamed, and what London did next.

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Compiled from the cited public sources (diaries, the 1666 London Gazette, museum, archive and library pages). Where sources disagree, both figures are shown. An independent StoryTeller study.

About this story

An independent StoryTeller study. Built 2026-10-01.

Every claim in it cites a dated source, and relationships the author interpreted are drawn dashed. Where the sources disagree, you see both.

Guided stories

  • Five days, day by dayFollow the fire from a baker's oven to the last embers.
  • Why it spreadA dry summer, a wooden city, a strong wind and no fire brigade made the blaze unstoppable, until the wind fell and gunpowder opened a gap.
  • Who was blamedA frightened city looked for culprits; the official account said accident, yet a confessing man was hanged and a monument briefly blamed Catholics.
  • How the City was rebuiltGrand plans arrived within days; the law, property lines and cost kept the old streets but changed the buildings.
  • How many? The numbers that disagreeEven the best-known figures differ between respectable sources; here is where they diverge.
  • A cathedral lost and rebuiltFrom the stones that flew on Tuesday night to the replacement begun nine years later.

Sources (23)

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