London’s burning — Part 3

I am happy to report that both Lee and myself made it down The Monument in one piece and I can continue the story of some of the other ways that the Great Fire is remembered in the vicinity. With the destruction of church of St Margaret New Fish Street and subsequent erection of The Monument there was still some unused space which was turned into a new street, originally called Monument Yard this was extended and became known as Monument Street.

Monument Street sign

Walking along monument Street we come to Pudding Lane where all the history books say fire started. The fire actually started in Fish Yard which was a tiny yard on Pudding Lane and when London was rebuilt this section of the street was routed slightly to the east of it’s original course right through the middle of what was Fish Yard. Obviously all the original buildings were lost to the fire but come on London I was hoping for a nicer building that this…

Pudding Lane

At least there is a plaque on the wall to commemorate where the bakery stood.

1986 Plaque marking spot where The Great Fire of London started : Near this site stood the shop belonging to Thomas Faryner, the King’s baker, in which the Great Fire of September 1666 began.
Presented by the Worshipful Company of Bakers to mark the 500th anniversary of their charter granted by King Henry VII in 1486.

But this wasn’t the first plaque on the site.

1681 Pudding Lane Plaque: Here by ye permission of heaven, hell broke loose upon this Protestant city from the malicious hearts of barbarous Papists, by ye hand of their agent Hubert, who confessed, and on ye ruines of this place declared the fact, for which he was hanged, (vizt.) that here began that dredfull fire, which is described and perpetuated on and by the neighbouring pillar. Erected Anno 1681 in the majoraltie of Sr. Patience Ward, Kt.

This plaque was erected in 1681 and blames the Papists and Robert Hubert who was hanged after confessing to starting the fire. When James II, a Catholic, took the throne the plaque was removed before being reinstated when William III became king only for it to be removed again in 1759. Where it disappeared only to be found during building works in the backyard of 25 Pudding Lane. But that’s not the end of story for there is another plaque laid into Monument Street…

2016 Monument Street Plaque: East of this tablet on 2nd September 1666 was the baker’s oven & woodpile where “began that dredfull fire, which is described & perpetuated on & by the neighbouring pillar”. The words used on a plaque here in 1681 — since 1887 beneath the cobbles of Monument Street, marked again to commemorate three hundred & fifty years since the fire began.

Which implies that the plaque was then buried under Monument Street in 1887 then at some point dug up again and then given to the Museum of London. This means the 2016 Plaque is a real oddity it is essentially a plaque to commemorate another plaque.

Pudding Lane sign

While we are in Pudding Lane I should point out that the pudding referred to in Pudding Lane is not one delicious British steamed deserts that are served with hot custard. The lane was instead given it’s name by the butchers in Eastcheap market who used it to transport “pudding” or offal down to the river to be transported away on waste barges.

Seats in Monument Street

There is one final reminder to events in 1666 back in Monument Street. This takes the form of bench seats made from granite with the words to a nursery rhyme that every English child is taught at school.

The Lyrics if you want to sing-a-long are:

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London’s burning, London’s burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.

London’s burning, London’s burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.

London’s burning, London’s burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.
Pour on water, pour on water.
Pour on water, pour on water.

The last place I want to show you today is some distance away as it doesn’t mark the spot where the fire started but instead the outer reaches of where it stopped.

The Fat Boy of Pie Corner: This boy is in memory put up for the late Fire of London Occasioned by the sin of Gluttony 1666

The memorial was erected in in the mid 18th century and reflects that many people thought God was punishing Londoners for their sins. In this case gluttony having started in Pudding Lane and stopped at Pie Corner. The statue of the fat boy was originally carved and adorned the Fortune of War public house.

The Fortune of War around 1900, note the statue on the wall

The pub was not the most salubrious of establishments and in the 1800s body-snatching corpses were stored in a backroom until surgeons at the nearby St Bartholomew’s Hospital came to collect them. The pub was demolished in 1910 but the statue was saved and stands in it’s own alcove on the building that replaced it.

The Golden Boy of Pye Corner

And for now that brings me to the end of the tale of one of the most devastating events in London’s history. I have lots more tales from this city though which I will tell you about soon…

Спасибо за прочтение. Продолжение следует…

Thanks for reading. To be continued…

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