Rebuilding London after the Great Fire

Timeline

1. 1666–1667City of London (Pudding Lane–Farringdon ward) · LondonOn September 2, 1666, the fire began at a bakery in Pudding Lane and burned for four days, destroying 373 acres of the City of London, about 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, and old St Paul's Cathedral. Parliament passed the London Rebuilding Act in 1667, requiring new buildings of brick or stone, setting four standard house sizes, and establishing a Fire Court to arbitrate boundary disputes, providing a legal framework for rebuilding.
2. 1671–1680Rebuilding sites across the City of London · London1671–1680 was the peak of rebuilding. The 51 parish churches designed by Christopher Wren began construction en masse, each with a unique plan to fit irregular plots. New street widths followed the Rebuilding Act standards, with main commercial streets widened to over 9 meters. Brick houses rapidly replaced timber row houses, and municipal water supply and drainage systems were overhauled. The City's population gradually recovered, reaching pre-fire levels by 1676.
3. 1675–1711St Paul's Cathedral construction site · LondonIn June 1675 Wren's third design for St Paul's Cathedral was approved and formally begun. The dome, modeled on St Peter's in Rome with British aesthetic modifications, became the iconic landmark of the City skyline. When the cathedral was completed in 1711, the City's rebuilding was essentially finished; this roughly 45-year, over £8 million rebuilding campaign completely transformed the City's building materials, street layout, and fire-prevention standards, and gave rise to the world's earliest commercial fire insurance institutions.