The Great Fire of London: A Timeline of Tragedy

Today we thought we would travel outside of the Middle Ages and into the early modern period. But why? We hear you shout when you have 1,000 years of medieval history to go at. Well, the answer is easy. The Great Fire of London was one of the greatest catastrophes ever to befall the City and was a tale just too extraordinary not to be told. Over ffour days from Sunday 2nd to Wednesday 5th September 1666, London was over powered by the largest and fastest moving fire that it had ever faced.

Fanned by easterly winds, it spread quickly across the city, like a relentless predator, consuming everything in its path. When the wind eventually dropped and the flames finally guttered out, the devastation was clear to see, causing the famed diarist Samuel Pepys to state that it was “the saddest sight of desolation that I ever saw”. Welcome to Early Modern Madness.

00:00 Introduction 01:21 A Whole New World 05:25 Tick, Tick, Boom! 08:13 Baker, Baker, Great Fire Maker 12:43 Bows and Arrows Against the Lightning 14:53 Hell Fire! 18:25 Burn Baby Burn 24:23 Firestarter? 27:36 Rise Like A Phoenix

Narrated by James Wade Written by Lisa E Rawcliffe Edited by Jamit Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices