Key Terms You Must Know

📖 Key Terms You Must Know

Firebreak

A gap deliberately created by demolishing buildings to prevent a fire from spreading further. Firebreaks were the only effective tool against large fires in the 17th century — water squirts were useless at this scale. Lord Mayor Bludworth's refusal to order firebreaks early on was the critical failure that allowed the Great Fire to become so catastrophic.

Jettied (overhanging storey)

A building technique common in medieval and Stuart London where upper floors were built to project out over the street, supported on timber beams. On narrow streets, jettied houses on opposite sides almost touched at roof level. This meant fire could jump easily across the street — one burning upper floor could ignite the house directly opposite. The Rebuilding Act 1667 banned jettied construction.

Rebuilding Act 1667

An Act of Parliament passed in the year after the Great Fire that set new construction standards for London. It required houses to be built of brick or stone (not timber), specified minimum street widths, banned overhanging storeys, and classified buildings by type (e.g., riverside warehouses had thicker walls). It was the first modern building regulation in England and directly shaped the London that still exists today.

Fire post

An organised station set up around the burning city during the Great Fire, where groups of citizens gathered with equipment (buckets, hooks, axes) and tried to coordinate a response. Charles II ordered fire posts established once he took personal command of the response. They had limited effect against the main fire but helped prevent further spread at the city's edges.

Monument

The stone column designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, completed in 1677, built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. It stands 202 feet tall — the same distance from its base to the spot on Pudding Lane where the fire began. An inscription on its base originally blamed Catholics for starting the fire (added during the Popish Plot hysteria of 1678–81) but this was removed in 1830 after Catholic emancipation. The Monument is still standing in the City of London today.

Ward

A district or administrative division of the City of London, governed by an alderman. The City of London was divided into 26 wards, each responsible for its own local administration, firefighting equipment, and civic duties. This ward system meant the response to the fire was fragmented — there was no single coordinating authority until the King stepped in.

Fire insurance

A financial arrangement in which a property owner pays regular premiums to an insurance company, which in turn pays compensation if the property is destroyed by fire. Fire insurance did not exist in England before the Great Fire. Nicholas Barbon established the first insurance office in 1680. Early insurance companies also ran their own private fire brigades — only insured buildings had a metal "fire mark" plaque on the wall, and the brigade would only fight a fire if they saw their company's mark.

Trained Bands

The local militia of London — part-time citizen soldiers who could be called out to maintain order in a crisis. During the Great Fire, the Trained Bands were deployed to prevent looting and to keep crowds away from firebreak demolition work. They also helped guard the goods of citizens who had fled the fire — though looting was widespread despite their presence.