Hat Tip: Great Fire of London, 1666

If you have ancestors who were in or near London in 1666, today the Museum of London's blog has a great post about the fire and its aftermath. It was an event that would never have been forgotten by those who witnessed it.

[Woodcut from ‘Shlohavot, or, The burning of London in the year 1666′

Museum of London Blog]

[Great Fire painting, 1670s, Showing the fire from either Newgate or Ludgate with St Paul’s Cathedral in the background.

© Museum of London]

Eastcheap, where my ancestor William Heath had lived and worked before he removed to Virginia at least 16 years earlier, was completely destroyed.

[A Plan of the City and Liberties of London,  Shewing the Extent of the Dreadful Conflagration in the Year 1666; Taken from "A New History of London, Including Westminster and Southwark, to which is added, A General Survey of the Whole; Describing The Public Buildings, Late Improvements, &c. Illustrated WIth Copper-Plates." by John Noorthouck. London, 1773. Source: Mapco]

My friend Bonnie's paternal seventh great grandfather Thomas Ambridge (1642-1679) and his bride-to-be Euphemia Tew* (1646-1719) were living in Hampstead which overlooks the City of London and a place where crowds gathered to watch the fire.

[View of the City of London from Hampstead Heath, 2013, my photo]

Note: As you would expect, the Museum of London has a lot more information about the Great Fire, both online and in their War, Plague & Fire (1550s-1660s) gallery.

*This surname was variously spelled as To, Too, Two, and Tow (and probably a few others that I've forgotten.)



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