The Consequences of The Great Fire of London

The consequences of The Great Fire of London of 1666 were catastrophic, causing deaths and utmost destruction, not to mention all the people who were left homeless. However, good consequences did come out of the fire itself.

            One of the worst consequences was that most of London had been destroyed. It was recorded that the fire consumed approximately 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, and most of the buildings of the City authorities. It also left roughly 200,000 homeless and destitute, and a man named Evelyn at the time of the gathering of the homeless said "Many [were] without a rag or any necessary utensils, bed or board... reduced to extremist misery and poverty." This quote suggests that the fire had wiped out their entire lives, forcing them to begin a new life, without money. Another bad consequence of the fire was that the streets were mainly returned to their original layout, there was no new continental-style architecture. Yet another bad consequence was that many new laws were ignored and the fire resulted in death to some people, although, only five people were recorded dead.

            There were good consequences though, such as a new fire service and improvements in fire precautions; wider streets and buildings made of stone not timber. In addition to this, another good consequence was that a new St Pauls Cathedral was built, as the last had burnt down because of the fire. Furthermore, it was thought the fire had virtually wiped out The Plague; this being a good consequence because wiping out The Plague probably saved lives.

            In conclusion, the fire had probably more bad consequences than good, and left the King in competition for architects to offer design for the new London. The costs added up to about £1,000,000,000 worth of our money at the end, and a fire court was set up to judge disputes over who owned which property.