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In September 1666 a fire that started in a bakery on Pudding Lane burned for four days and destroyed much of the City of London. The Short follows Will, a fictional Thames waterman, and his daughter Mary through the first day. This is the history behind it.
Fire broke out at Thomas Farriner's bakery off Pudding Lane.2
A bakery on Pudding Lane is burning. At 3 a.m., Samuel Pepys saw it and went back to bed.
About 3 am
Pepys goes back to bed
Samuel Pepys was woken at about 3 am, judged the fire far enough off, and went back to sleep.1
2 September · later that day
Everyone wants a boat
Pepys saw people flinging their goods into the river and into boats offshore.1 Watermen rowed passengers across and along the Thames.8
WILL
Everyone wants a boat today. Good fares on a Sunday!
2 September · midday
Wind and sparks
A strong wind carried the fire. On the river, Pepys was caught in a "shower of fire drops".16 Pulling down houses to make firebreaks was the usual way to stop a fire, but it was delayed.2
MARY
Papa, the wind is blowing sparks over the roofs!
2 September · evening
One entire arch of fire
From an alehouse on Bankside, across the river, Pepys watched the fire stretch across the city in "one entire arch of fire".17
LONDON2 SEP 1666 21:00
3 to 6 September
Four days
The fire burned until 5 or 6 September. It destroyed about 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and St Paul's Cathedral.3
WILL
Into the boat, Mary. Don't look back.
Afterwards
Six recorded deaths
Officially, six people died. Historians argue the real toll was far higher and will never be known.4
On 4 September, Samuel Pepys dug a pit in his garden.
In it he buried his wine and his parmesan cheese.
Will is fictional. The parmesan is real.
Every line, checked
Each line from the Short that makes a historical claim, beside what the record says.
On screen · opening
A bakery on Pudding Lane is burning. At 3 a.m., Samuel Pepys saw it and went back to bed.
The record
The fire began at Thomas Farriner's bakery off Pudding Lane.2 Pepys's diary says he was woken at about 3 am, thought the fire far enough off, and went back to sleep.1
High
On screen · life
WILL
Everyone wants a boat today. Good fares on a Sunday!
The record
Pepys saw people throwing their goods into the river and into boats.1 Watermen were the Thames's water taxis.8 Will's good fares are our invention.
High
On screen · the omen
MARY
Papa, the wind is blowing sparks over the roofs!
The record
A strong wind drove the fire, and Pepys describes a "shower of fire drops" on the river.16
High
On screen · shrug-off
WILL
They'll pull down a few houses. It's always done that way.
The record
Pulling down houses for firebreaks was the standard method. Owners resisted, and it was delayed.2
High
On screen · the event
LONDON2 SEP 1666 21:00
The record
That evening Pepys watched from a Bankside alehouse as the fire formed "one entire arch of fire".17 The hour on screen is ours; the diary says evening.
High
On screen · chaos
It burned for four days. 13,200 houses were lost.
The record
The fire burned from 2 September until 5 or 6 September and destroyed about 13,200 houses.3
High
On screen · aftermath
Officially, six people died. Nobody knows the true number.
The record
Six deaths were recorded. Historians argue the true toll was far higher and will never be known.4
High
On screen · fact card
In it he buried his wine and his parmesan cheese.
The record
Pepys's diary for 4 September records that he and Sir William Penn dug a pit in the garden, where he put his wine and his Parmesan.15
High
Open question
Open question
What happened to the parmesan?
Pepys's house survived the fire, and he dug his wine back up afterwards. His diary never says what became of the cheese.15
Unknown
Think about it
Pepys went back to bed at 3 am. With what he knew then, was that a reasonable decision?
Everyone knew pulling down houses could stop a fire. Why might it still have been delayed?
Only six deaths were recorded. Whose deaths might a city's records miss, and why?
Pepys chose to save wine and cheese. What can the things people save in a crisis tell historians about them?
Glossary
Waterman
A boatman who rowed passengers across and along the Thames, like a water taxi.
Lighterman
A boatman who carried goods on flat barges called lighters.
Firebreak
A gap cleared to stop a fire spreading. In 1666 it meant pulling houses down.
Wherry
The light rowing boat watermen used.
Bankside
The south bank of the Thames, opposite the City.
City of London
The old walled city, about a square mile, where most of the damage was done.
Will
Mary
MARY
LONDON2 SEP 1666 21:00
WILL
