This video covers: How the fire spread and what it looked like at its height
I continued to watch the fire as it increased with the strong wind. Sparks from the fire burned your face and it was these sparks that fell onto houses setting them alight. Smoke lay thick and heavy all over the Thames and the flames appeared as a complete arch from one side of London Bridge to the other. Later that evening, at home, I buried my wine and parmesan cheese as well as a few other things of value in the garden, to save them from the fire. Then, after supper, I walked down to Tower Street, which is not far from my house, and I saw the fire burning with such ferocity. I saw soldiers blowing up houses in the path of the fire and where the houses had been blown up, the fire was stopped. I was very lucky that my house escaped the fire and eventually, four days after it had started, with the blowing up of the houses and the wind dying down, the fire was eventually put out. The damage to the city was devastating, to see St Paul’s Cathedral ruined with its roof all collapsed in. So sad.
Eras:
17th Century
Great Fire of London
Topics:
Great Fire of London
Key people
Character:
Samuel Pepys
Key words:
History, Social Studies, European, European history, Great Fire of London, Fire of London, Great fire, fire, London, 1666, September 1666, Pepys, Samuel Pepys, KS1, Key Stage 1, KS2, Key Stage 2, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6, Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, Lord Mayor, Canning Street, soldiers, fight fire, fighting fire, fire fighting, flammable, burning, spread, parmesan, parmesan cheese, Thames, soldiers, St Pauls Cathedral, St Paul's cathedral, cathedral,