A model of the 1666 City of London has been set ablaze on the Thames to commemorate the great Fire of that year that destroyed nearly 80% of the capital.
A model of the 1666 City of London has been set ablaze on the Thames to commemorate the great Fire of that year that destroyed nearly 80% of the capital.
It was the second great disaster to hit London in the mid-17th century following the Plague of the year before.
“So this is the commemoration of London’s Great Fire which took place in 1666. The fire raged for four days and destroyed much of the city of London at the time. Only six people were reported to have lost their lives but apparently over 80,000 people were made homeless and became refugees,” said the Associate Producer for event production company Artichoke Kate Harvey.
The destruction allowed the subsequent rebuilding of the city in the style familiar today, much of it orchestrated by Sir Christopher Wren, who built St. Paul’s cathedral.