Rebuilding London
In October the King and Lord Mayor decided to form a committee of experts to set the ground rules for the rebuilding. Their first
meeting took place on October 4. As the most senior and experienced, Sir Roger Pratt took control of the committee. The meeting focused on setting up a survey of the entire burnt area. This was done so that property rights could be identified and, most importantly, they could widen the streets. The committee thought that if they could widen the streets then they could make it easier for
the fire engines to get to the fire in the future. It would also make it harder for the fire to spread so quickly. At the second meeting, on October 8, they devised ways to speed up the process of cleaning up the streets so surveying could be completed faster. Even so, it took a long time to clear the streets. On October 11, the committee had their third meeting. They tried to come up with more abstract ways to clean up the streets. Once the clearing was done though, it took the committee nine weeks to survey the 436 acres that had been burnt by the fire.
The first Rebuilding Act was passed on February 8th 1667. It implemented a new tax on the imports of coal. Because the streets
were to be widened, some people’s property was going to become smaller. If this was the case, you could go to court and they would pay you with the money they had collected from the coal tax. The act also laid out building codes. In historic or wealthy neighborhoods, the streets were to be 100 feet wide. In the common neighborhoods the streets were set to be 42 to 50 feet wide. In the poorer neighborhoods the streets were 25 to 30 feet wide and the alleys were to be no less than 16 feet wide. It also stated that you had to build a certain style of house, depending on where you lived. Houses on the regular streets were to be two stories, houses overlooking the Thames were to be three stories, and the homes of wealthy, important figures, or merchants were to be no more
than four stories. It was also stated that there would be no more jutting out of the upper stories.
Before anyone could start rebuilding, a surveyor had to come out and set the new boundaries of every building. It took several years to rebuild because there were many disputes between the landlords and the tenants. In London, the landlord owned the land and the tenant owned the building. After the fire it was the tenant who had to pay for the rebuilding. The tenants were upset because they had to pay both their regular monthly rent as well as pay the rebuilding costs. In January, wanting to speed up the rebuilding process, Parliament passed another act which set up a court system where the landlords and tenants could solve these disputes. These courts were called Fire Courts. It was usually advised that the landlords lower their monthly fee so that the tenants could afford to pay for the rebuilding. Rebuilding still took several years because the tenants had to find money to pay for it. By December of 1667 only 150 homes had been rebuilt. A second reason for the delay was because the Dutch Navy tried to attack every British ship they could find, many of which were carrying supplies needed for the rebuilding. By the end of 1668, 800 buildings had been rebuilt and 1,200 foundations had been marked. The city continued to work hard and by the end of 1669, over 1,600 private homes had been rebuilt. The only problem was that they still hadn’t rebuilt St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, or the Guildhall. Parliament didn’t know how else to pay for the rebuilding so, in May of 1670, they passed the Second Rebuilding Act. This raised the tax on coal imports from 1 shilling to 3 shillings and this proved to be very effective. Parliament raised around 738,000 pounds; about half of the money went to the rebuilding of public works such as the Guildhall, prisons, and the Fleet Canal. Around 264,000 pounds was used on parish churches and about 88,000 pounds was used to rebuild St. Paul’s.
After this great tragedy, the city of London set new fire regulations. The city was divided into 4 parts, each quarter was required
to have firefighting equipment available including: 800 leather buckets, 50 ladders (10 of which had to be 42 feet long), 24 pick axes and 40 shovels. Each of the 12 principal city Livery Companies were also required to provide a fire engine, 30 buckets, 2 water squirts (they used these instead of hoses) and 3 ladders. Finally households were ordered to have a bucket and were advised to quench ashes at night and put them in a safe place. Most people tried their best to follow these rules and guidelines. They didn’t want to go through that experience again!
meeting took place on October 4. As the most senior and experienced, Sir Roger Pratt took control of the committee. The meeting focused on setting up a survey of the entire burnt area. This was done so that property rights could be identified and, most importantly, they could widen the streets. The committee thought that if they could widen the streets then they could make it easier for
the fire engines to get to the fire in the future. It would also make it harder for the fire to spread so quickly. At the second meeting, on October 8, they devised ways to speed up the process of cleaning up the streets so surveying could be completed faster. Even so, it took a long time to clear the streets. On October 11, the committee had their third meeting. They tried to come up with more abstract ways to clean up the streets. Once the clearing was done though, it took the committee nine weeks to survey the 436 acres that had been burnt by the fire.
The first Rebuilding Act was passed on February 8th 1667. It implemented a new tax on the imports of coal. Because the streets
were to be widened, some people’s property was going to become smaller. If this was the case, you could go to court and they would pay you with the money they had collected from the coal tax. The act also laid out building codes. In historic or wealthy neighborhoods, the streets were to be 100 feet wide. In the common neighborhoods the streets were set to be 42 to 50 feet wide. In the poorer neighborhoods the streets were 25 to 30 feet wide and the alleys were to be no less than 16 feet wide. It also stated that you had to build a certain style of house, depending on where you lived. Houses on the regular streets were to be two stories, houses overlooking the Thames were to be three stories, and the homes of wealthy, important figures, or merchants were to be no more
than four stories. It was also stated that there would be no more jutting out of the upper stories.
Before anyone could start rebuilding, a surveyor had to come out and set the new boundaries of every building. It took several years to rebuild because there were many disputes between the landlords and the tenants. In London, the landlord owned the land and the tenant owned the building. After the fire it was the tenant who had to pay for the rebuilding. The tenants were upset because they had to pay both their regular monthly rent as well as pay the rebuilding costs. In January, wanting to speed up the rebuilding process, Parliament passed another act which set up a court system where the landlords and tenants could solve these disputes. These courts were called Fire Courts. It was usually advised that the landlords lower their monthly fee so that the tenants could afford to pay for the rebuilding. Rebuilding still took several years because the tenants had to find money to pay for it. By December of 1667 only 150 homes had been rebuilt. A second reason for the delay was because the Dutch Navy tried to attack every British ship they could find, many of which were carrying supplies needed for the rebuilding. By the end of 1668, 800 buildings had been rebuilt and 1,200 foundations had been marked. The city continued to work hard and by the end of 1669, over 1,600 private homes had been rebuilt. The only problem was that they still hadn’t rebuilt St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, or the Guildhall. Parliament didn’t know how else to pay for the rebuilding so, in May of 1670, they passed the Second Rebuilding Act. This raised the tax on coal imports from 1 shilling to 3 shillings and this proved to be very effective. Parliament raised around 738,000 pounds; about half of the money went to the rebuilding of public works such as the Guildhall, prisons, and the Fleet Canal. Around 264,000 pounds was used on parish churches and about 88,000 pounds was used to rebuild St. Paul’s.
After this great tragedy, the city of London set new fire regulations. The city was divided into 4 parts, each quarter was required
to have firefighting equipment available including: 800 leather buckets, 50 ladders (10 of which had to be 42 feet long), 24 pick axes and 40 shovels. Each of the 12 principal city Livery Companies were also required to provide a fire engine, 30 buckets, 2 water squirts (they used these instead of hoses) and 3 ladders. Finally households were ordered to have a bucket and were advised to quench ashes at night and put them in a safe place. Most people tried their best to follow these rules and guidelines. They didn’t want to go through that experience again!