Join Greg Jenner in 17th-century London as an out of control fire razes much of the city to the ground. Why did it spread so quickly? Why wasn't it extinguished immediately? And why didn't anyone make the most of the opportunity to build a better London? The Historical Consultant for this episode was Rebecca Rideal. Produced by Abi Paterson Scripted by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch and Emma Nagouse Research Assistance by Hannah MacKenzie A production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4
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Hello and welcome to Homeschool history.
Im Greg Jenner, the historian behind tvs horrible histories and the host of the BBC podcast youre dead to me, although that ones mostly for the grown ups.
Im here to deliver a snappy history lesson to entertain and educate the whole family.
Who says that homeschooling cant be fun?
Today we are journeying back to 1666 to get to grips with a calamity that changed the City of London forever.
The great fire of London.
Let's fire away.
The London of the 1660s was way smaller than today's capital city, but at the time, it was one of the biggest cities in the world.
So what caused this disaster?
We didn't start the fire.
Well, loads of things, really.
In 1666, buildings were so tightly packed together that they blocked out the light.
And these buildings were made of wood.
And what does wood do?
Yeah, it goes on fire.
There was no electricity back then either.
So the only way to light or heat these buildings was with a fire.
So far so flammable.
A deadly disease known as the plague had also spread through London the summer before.