London fire of 1666

On Sunday, 2 September 1666, the destruction of London began. An area one and a half miles by half a mile was in ashes. About 87 churches and 13,200 houses were destroyed and amazingly only six people have been known to have died. The fire began in the house and shop of Thomas Farynor, the King's baker. His assistant was awaken by the house full of smoke and people began to escape. All were successful except for a maid …

…completely beyond restoration. It was London's second major disaster in the range of a year. 75,000 citizens having already died from The Great Plague of 1665, the fire that followed virtually destroyed the old city after burning out of control for five days. The spot where the fire began is marked by a monument to the east of the Cathedral in the City of London. The Monument, standing 203 feet high can be visited from Monument Underground Station.