Unit 17 Building regulations and control in construction The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London • Started Sunday, 2 September 1666 • The fire broke out in the bakery in Pudding Lane, a narrow street of timbered buildings and wattle-and-daub shelters • Once fire took hold in the bakery it spread swiftly.

The Great Fire of London • A servant living above the bakery raised the alarm • The household jumped to safety from the roof – except for a maid, who became the fire’s first victim • The fire was fanned by an east wind and it spread to buildings in Thames Street, St Boltoph’s Lane and Fish Street Hill

The Great Fire of London • Many buildings surrounding the bakery had storerooms full of materials such as oil, pitch, hemp and tar which fuelled the fire • The heat was so intense nobody could get close enough to fight the flames • The fire lasted four days and four nights spreading over two miles and destroying 80% of London

The rebuilding of London • This was seen as a way of organising the layout of the city • Unfortunately this meant compensating many landowners; however, neither the government nor the King had the finances to accomplish this

The Commission for Rebuilding Commissioners for Rebuilding were appointed in October 1666. • Christopher Wren • Robert Hooke, of the Royal Society • Hugh May, a royal official with architectural experience • Robert Pratt, architect • Edward Jerman, City man • Peter Mills, the City Surveyor,

Rebuilding Act 1667 The first Rebuilding Act was passed by Parliament in February 1667. It named four types of building: • Two floors high with an attic and cellar on by-lanes • Three stories and built on larger streets • Four floors high and built on main roads • Mansions with fewer restrictions than the other three but still restricted to four stories plus cellar and attic

Rebuilding Act 1667 • No matter what the function of the building, it had to be built in brick or stone • Timber buildings were forbidden • There could be no projections over the streets, as this allowed fire to leap from house to house