Great Fire Of London Essay

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The Great Fire of London On the evening of September 2, 1666, a vast conflagration began in the great city of London, causing an amount of destruction that was neither predictable nor irreversible. As this dreadful disaster unfolded, hundreds of buildings, residences, and shelters were demolished. As London recovered, a wide variety of changes that were made affected the long term layout of the streets, homes, and businesses. An extensive analysis of London before the Great Fire, while the city was set ablaze, and during its prolonged process of restoration explains how this historical city has reached its place in the world today. Approximately sixty years before the outbreak of the fire, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, London had an abundance of open land in the north. To the west, prosperous suburbs expanded towards the city of Westminster. Within the walls, smaller scale industries of trailers, carpenters, and cobblers thrived. Many of the homes that were built opened up directly onto major roads, meaning that very few had yards or space between their own home and that of their neighbor (Millwall). Many aspects of London’s structure led its citizens to predict that, with time, a massive fire was …show more content…

This included the widening and straightening of streets and the alleviation of intersections. Street markets were relocated to grand halls that had been formed specifically to serve as newer, safer environments for food, clothing, and other street products. In addition, the creation of any public square not already in existence was banned. One of the last and most important adjustments to be made to London’s city plan regarded neighborhood homes. Houses or buildings facing major streets were limited to existing at a height of four stories, while homes on ordinary streets or alleyways were restricted to only three stories (Schofield;

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