Setting the Scene
📖 Setting the Scene
2am, Sunday 2nd September 1666. Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane catches fire. Just a year after the plague, London is about to face another catastrophe. The summer had been hot and dry. Houses were timber-framed, built close together, with overhanging upper floors. Fire spread quickly. By the time it burned out four days later, 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and St Paul's Cathedral were destroyed. Amazingly, only 6 deaths were officially recorded, though the true number may be higher. The fire would transform London and create opportunities for a grand rebuilding.
Earn the mark scheme marks
📝 Exam Technique: Historic Environment
The historic environment question is about a specific site that AQA names in advance. If your site is linked to the Fire, these are the key connections:
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 11
Where did the Great Fire of London begin on 2 September 1666?
Tap an answer to check it