View a close-up of the Great Fire illustration. The Great Fire of London is shown with the city in large clouds of smoke on the side of the river Thames dated, 12-16 September 1666. The point view is from the south bank of the Thames looking north over Southwark Cathedral and the Globe Theatre over the old London Bridge to the city of London in flames. Huge clouds of smoke cover the city.
A broadside sheet of ten illustrations with descriptions written in Dutch showing incidents during the Dutch War, 1665-1667: battle between the English and Dutch fleets, 13 June 1665; the English attack on Bergen, Norway, 12 August 1665; four day battle, 11-14 June 1666; burning of ships in the Vlie and the Schelling, 19-20 August 1666; the Fire of London, 12-16 September 1666; Dutch attack on Sheppey and Sheerness, 20 June 1667; burning of English ships at Rochester, 22-23 June 1667; peace conference at Breda, 31 July 1667; the publication of the Peace at Breda, 24 August 1667; and the fireworks celebrating the peace, 7 September 1667. By Marcus Doornick, (1633-1703). Catalogue ref: MPF 1/232
The source says that the fire happened from September 12 –16. This because the Netherlands had adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1583, which corrected the inaccuracies of the earlier Julian calendar. England, Ireland, and the British colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar from 1 January in 1752. The source is an example of a foreign report of the fire and shows the international interest in the event.
A broadside was a large sheet of paper printed on one side and used like a poster. They were often illustrated and contained news of events, political views, songs, ballads or even advertisements.
- This source is dated according to the Gregorian calendar, adopted by different countries at different times. How does this affect historical researchers?
- The article mentions ‘victory fires of the English in the Vlie and on Terschelling’. Look at picture D in the right column of the whole broadside image. Explain why this event is mentioned at the start and end of the article?
- What information does the article give about the damage to trade caused by the fire?
- What does this article reveal about interest in the Great Fire of London from abroad?
- Compare the picture of the Great Fire (with this article) to that shown with Hollar’s map. Which one do you think is more useful?
Image description
A broadside sheet including ten illustrations, with descriptions written in Dutch showing incidents during the Dutch War, dated 1665-1667. By Marcus Doornick (1633-1703), 1667.
Left column, from top to bottom:
A. A battle between the English and Dutch fleets with two large ships in flames and a smaller ship sinking in the foreground dated, 13 June 1665.
B. The English fleet are shown attacking Bergen, Norway with several ships in the harbour and they are fired at from the shore with cannons, dated, 12 August 1665.
E. The Great Fire of London is shown with the city in large clouds of smoke on the side of the river Thames dated, 12-16 September 1666. The point view is from the south bank of the Thames looking north over Southwark Cathedral and the Globe Theatre over the old London Bridge to the city of London in flames. Huge clouds of smoke cover the city.
I. On the publication of the Peace at Breda a huge crowd is standing outside the gates of a large ornate building dated, 24 August 1667. Bottom left column.
Right column, from top to bottom:
C. A four-day battle showing burning ships and black smoke, a large galleon sinks in the foreground, dated 11-14 June 1666.
D. The burning of ships in the Vlie and the Schelling. This was an English raid on Dutch islands where burning houses are shown, dated 19-20 August 1666.
F. Dutch ships attack Sheppey and Sheerness where the English have assembled with weapons. Behind these men are two farmers with a flock of sheep. A fortified building is on fire, dated 20 June 1667. Right column.
G. Burning of several English ships at Rochester, dated, 22-23 June 1667.
Middle column, from top to bottom:
H. The Peace conference at Breda where a crowd of men stand around a circular table, on the right stands Charles II with his hand held to his heart. Above the table hangs a large cloud with two cherubs with trumpets and the goddess of peace holds an olive branch and wreath. Various documents are on the table, dated 31 July 1667. Top middle column
K. A city scene by a canal with people celebrating the peace of Breda with fireworks and firing a canon dated, 7 September 1667. Bottom middle column.
Translation (from Dutch)
E. The Fire of London, 12, 13, 14. and 15 September 1666.
The victory fires of the English in the Vlie and on Terschelling were perhaps confirmed as far away as London, because less than 3 weeks later, it being 12 September 1666, a fire arose by night in a bakery there in Pudding Lane, not far from the great bridge where the city is densely built up, that spread so quickly fanned by an east wind that, before the arrival of dawn, one could see the whole quarter full of smoke, fire and flames. This fire was not considered to be serious at first, as it raged the next day through Grace Church and Cannon Street and along the waterfront past the three cranes, the bravest men began to flee with such confusion, that the narrow alley ways, especially in this part of the city, were teeming so full of people burdened with household goods that one could not turn in any direction. The fire continued to spread and destroyed the old Exchange and the very large, but now ruinous, St. Paul’s Church, around which are to be found the largest and most expensive shops for linen and silk goods, gold and silversmiths and other merchandise. And, because this fire burned for four days, the goods were burnt of those who had fled from one house into another.
The King with his brother the Duke of York took great trouble to bring everything as far as possible under control, because the cries and groans, the fear, hurry and dejection, scurrying and rushing about were indescribable. The fire was first stopped at the Tower on the one side and at Temple Bar on the other, it being a good hour’s walk from one to the other, I.e. covering nearly the whole of the old city of London. Since the greater part of the merchandise and wealth had been burned the damage is incalculable. And, however much effort was made, the fire could not be stopped nor put out until some houses were blown up as a last resort. The common people whose homes had been burned were given shelter in churches around London. Some also stayed to guard their property, lying day and night under the open sky.
It was eventually estimated that 86 parishes had been burned, 85 churches (only the German church remained standing in the middle of the fire), 30 guild houses, about 35,000 houses, consisting of 60,000 dwellings, comprising 93 both large and small streets. Londoners will remember this day of fire all their lives and perhaps even see the same ruinous properties as those on the island of Terschelling.
Simplified translation
Maybe the victory fires of the English in the Vlie and on Terschelling were confirmed in London, at least 3 weeks later. On 12 September 1666, a fire broke out at night in a bakery in Pudding Lane, not far from the great bridge where the city is densely built. It spread very quickly fanned by an east wind. Before dawn, one could see the whole area full of smoke, fire and flames. This fire was not considered to be serious at first, as it raged the next day through Grace Church Street and Cannon Street and along the waterfront past the Three Cranes Inn. The bravest men began to flee with such confusion, that the narrow alley ways, especially in this part of the city, were so full of people carrying household goods. The fire continued to spread and destroyed the old Exchange and the large now ruined, St. Paul’s Church, including the largest and most expensive shops for linen and silk goods, gold and silversmiths and other goods. And, because this fire burned for four days, the goods were burnt of those who had fled from one house into another.
The King with his brother the Duke of York took great trouble to try and bring everything under control, as the cries and groans, the fear, dejection and rushing about were indescribable. The fire was first stopped at the Tower on the one side and at Temple Bar on the other, a good hour’s walk between the two, covering nearly the whole of the city of London. As most of the merchandise and wealth had been burned the damage is incalculable. Despite huge efforts, the fire could not be stopped nor put out until some houses were blown up as a last resort. The common people whose homes had been burned were given shelter in churches around London. Some also stayed to guard their property, lying day and night under the open sky.
It was eventually estimated that 86 parishes had been burned, 85 churches (only the German church remained standing in the middle of the fire), 30 guild houses, about 35,000 houses, consisting of 60,000 houses, comprising 93 both large and small streets. Londoners will remember this day of fire all their lives and perhaps even see the same ruinous properties as those on the island of Terschelling.