The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was the greatest catastrophe of its kind in Western Europe. Although detailed fire precautions and firefighting 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 by the great plague of 1665; as the antiquary Anthony Wood wrote left London "much impoverished, discontented, afflicted, cast downe." In this comprehensive account, St...