Description

About this tour

Explore the heart of the city of London, near St Paul’s Cathedral and Pudding Lane where a small fire in a bakery led to the Great Fire of London in September 1666. It was one of the capital's most historically significant events, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. The fire led to the modernisation of housing and infrastructure in London, forcing huge attitudinal changes towards safety and poverty of the people.

Highlights
-Enjoy the personal attention of your expert private guide.
-Begin where it all started, at a little bakery on Pudding Lane, where a few loose embers led to the Great Fire that destroyed so much of the city.
-Learn about a momentous moment in London's history – the effects of which are clearly visible today.
-Trace the path of the fire, from Pudding Lane to St Paul's Cathedral.
-Stop by the plaque of St Mary Colechurch, and then to Guildhall.
-Walk through the fire path toward the Royal Exchange.
-See other key Great Fire sites like Monument and piece together pictures and archive material.
-Get personalised suggestions for post-tour reading, documentaries to watch and other interesting sights to visit.
-Visit a medieval tavern, frequented by Charles Dickens, that survived the fire.

In the early hours of September 2nd, 1666, a small fire broke out at a bakery on Pudding Lane. The conditions were optimal for disaster – the timber and thatch houses were situated in extremely close proximity to one other, one witness reported that you could wake up in the morning, open the window and shake hands with your neighbour. The city had also been plagued by drought for about 6 months, meaning that the timber was particularly dry. The fire escalated rapidly, burning down around 13,000 homes and 87 churches over the course of four days and severely damaging St Paul’s Cathedral. What happened and how did the fire wreak so much havoc?

On this private walking tour, you will learn about how the fire began and how it spread. Debate some of the key issues surrounding the topic with your expert guide. If not for Baker Thomas Farriner’s carelessness with a few dying embers, would London have remained a medieval city? Or was this a tragedy waiting to happen? Did the fire paradoxically cause more good than bad, or do we underestimate the scale of the fire’s damage? What about the people who lost their homes, livelihoods, and even their lives?

You and your guide will trace the key sites of the Great Fire with a walk around the City of London: from Pudding Lane, Monument and old local churches to alleyways and pre-1666 taverns. See how the area has been transformed, what remains and explore some archive materials to build up an accurate picture of events and London at that time.

Bring history to life with visits to key places of interest and learn about the fascinating and often unbelievable stories around the fire.