Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration of the central parts of London, England in 1666. Though 373 acres of the city were destroyed,[1] and over 13,000 buildings consumed,[2] the death toll is generally thought to have been relatively small.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
On 2 September 1666 at 2:00 a.m., the house of King Charles II's baker Thomas Farriner caught fire. It started in the house located on Pudding Lane, near London Bridge, and quickly spread across the whole city, taking advantage of the close proximity of buildings made primarily of timber. It lasted for several days, only being extinguished on the 5th. As an attempt to avoid a rebellion among the refugees, King Charles II encouraged an evacuation of the city to resettle elsewhere.[1]
A Parliamentary Committee was set up to investigate the fire. Although a French watchmaker,[1] Robert Hubert,[3] confessed to the arson and was hanged for it on 28 September 1666, his testimony was inconclusive, and there was proof that he was not even in the city when the fire began. The tension of the era ended up contributing to the development of several conspiracy theories to explain the source of the fire, and in turn, the fire contributed to greater political and religious tensions,[1] as well as economic tensions, with the event costing the British government 10 million pounds at the time.[2]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
It was only after the Great Fire that the idea to build an official residence for the Lord Mayors of London came about.[4] Among the buildings destoryed by the fire figured St. Paul's Cathedral[5] and the Royal Exchange, from which only a statue of Thomas Gresham survived.[6] The church of St. Mary Matfelon, however, managed to escape the conflagration without damage to its structure.[7]
At the site of the destroyed St. Margaret's church, 200 feet from the bakery where the fire began, The Monument to the Great Fire, designed by Christopher Wren was built between 1671 and 1677 to preserve the memory of the event.[2]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
The Monument to the Great Fire of London
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first mentioned) (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned in Database entry only)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: Suspicious Fire in London
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: Monument to the Great Fire of London
- ↑ 3.0 3.1
Great Fire of London on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: Mansion House
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: St. Paul's Cathedral
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: Royal Exchange
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: St. Mary Matfelon