September 4, 1666 - Great Fire of London Destroys St. Paul’s Cathedral

The Great Fire of London, with Ludgate and Old St. Paul’s, unknown artist, c. 1670. Paul Mellon Collection, Yale Center for British Art. Public domain.

By the evening of September 4, 1666, one of medieval London’s greatest landmarks had become an inferno. Flames engulfed Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, melting the lead from its roof and leaving the centuries-old church a burned-out ruin. Its destruction was one episode in the catastrophic Great Fire of London, but it also opened the way for Christopher Wren to create the cathedral whose great dome remains one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.

The fire had begun two days earlier, during the early morning hours of September 2, in the bakery of Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane. London was particularly vulnerable to such a disaster. A hot, dry summer had left timber buildings ready to burn, houses crowded narrow streets, and warehouses contained highly flammable materials such as oil, rope, timber, and tar. Strong winds drove the flames rapidly westward.

London had no professional fire department. Residents fought fires with buckets, primitive pumps, hooks used to pull down buildings, and other basic equipment. Creating firebreaks by demolishing houses was one of the most effective ways to stop a spreading blaze, but authorities initially hesitated to order widespread destruction of private property. As the fire grew, King Charles II and his brother James, Duke of York, became personally involved in organizing efforts to contain it. Eventually gunpowder was used to demolish buildings in the fire’s path.

By September 4, the flames were approaching St. Paul’s Cathedral on Ludgate Hill. The church that stood there in 1666 was the fourth cathedral dedicated to St. Paul on or near the site. Construction on the great medieval building had begun after another fire in 1087 and continued for generations. Once completed, Old St. Paul’s was among medieval England’s most impressive churches. Its enormous spire had once towered over London, although lightning and fire destroyed the spire in 1561.

St. Paul’s had also experienced England’s religious upheavals. The Reformation transformed it from a Roman Catholic cathedral into one of the most prominent churches of Protestant England. Its history included royal ceremonies, public preaching, religious controversy, and such notable clergy as John Donne, the poet and preacher who served as dean from 1621 until his death in 1631.

By the seventeenth century, however, the centuries-old building was deteriorating. Restoration work had begun, and Christopher Wren was already involved in advising about repairs before the Great Fire. Ironically, those efforts helped make the cathedral particularly vulnerable when the flames arrived. Wooden scaffolding surrounded portions of the building, while wooden boards had been placed over damaged areas of its lead-covered roof.

Many Londoners initially believed the cathedral and its surrounding churchyard would provide protection from the advancing fire. Residents carried possessions there for safekeeping, and booksellers and stationers stored books and other goods in the cathedral precinct and crypt.

Instead, St. Paul’s became part of the inferno.

During the evening of September 4, burning material carried by the wind ignited the cathedral roof. The scaffolding and wooden coverings provided fuel, and the fire soon engulfed the structure. The heat became so intense that lead from the cathedral roof melted and ran down Ludgate Hill. Eyewitness John Evelyn described stones breaking apart from the tremendous heat and pavement glowing beneath the flames. Books, furnishings, monuments, and materials stored for protection were destroyed along with the building itself.

St. Paul’s was only one part of an enormous catastrophe. By the time the Great Fire was brought under control, approximately four-fifths of the City of London had burned. More than 13,000 houses and 87 churches were destroyed, along with major civic and commercial buildings. Around 100,000 people were left homeless. Remarkably, fewer than ten deaths were officially recorded, although the true number cannot be known with certainty.

The disaster produced ambitious proposals for rebuilding London. Wren and others envisioned dramatically redesigned streets and public spaces, but property rights, costs, and the urgent need to rebuild meant that most of London eventually rose again along its existing street pattern. Building regulations nevertheless encouraged greater use of brick and stone rather than timber.

Church rebuilding became one of the most visible parts of London’s recovery. Wren eventually played a leading role in replacing dozens of churches destroyed by the fire, but St. Paul’s became his greatest project.

Rather than reconstruct the medieval cathedral, Wren created something new. Construction began in 1675, and his evolving design combined classical architectural influences with an enormous dome that transformed London’s skyline. The first service was held in the cathedral’s choir in 1697, and the building was officially declared complete in 1711. Wren had spent more than three decades overseeing the creation of a cathedral that became both a functioning center of Christian worship and one of the most influential buildings in British architectural history.

Why It Matters

The Great Fire reshaped more than London's skyline. Coming only four years after the Act of Uniformity had strengthened the restored Church of England and forced many Puritan ministers from their pulpits, the destruction and rebuilding of dozens of parish churches helped give the established church a new physical presence in the capital. The disaster also became part of England's continuing religious conflicts: Catholics were falsely accused of starting the fire, while some Catholics abroad portrayed the destruction of Protestant London as divine judgment. The Great Fire therefore belongs not only to the history of London and St. Paul's Cathedral, but also to the larger story of religious division, confessional identity, and the reconstruction of the Church of England after the English Civil Wars and Restoration.