Samuel Pepys : Diary of The Great Fire of London

2nd September 1966 (Lord's day).
Some of our mayds sitting up late last night to getthings ready against our feast to-day, Jane called us up about three inthe morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I roseand slipped on my nightgowne, and went to her window, and thought it to beon the backside of Marke-lane at the farthest; but, being unused to suchfires as followed, I thought it far enough off; and so went to bed againand to sleep. About seven rose again to dress myself, and there lookedout at the window, and saw the fire not so much as it was and further off.So to my closett to set things to rights after yesterday's cleaning. Byand by Jane comes and tells me that she hears that above 300 houses havebeen burned down to-night by the fire we saw, and that it is now burningdown all Fish-street, by London Bridge. So I made myself ready presently,and walked to the Tower, and there got up upon one of the high places, SirJ. Robinson's little son going up with me; and there I did see the housesat that end of the bridge all on fire, and an infinite great fire on thisand the other side the end of the bridge; which, among other people, didtrouble me for poor little Michell and our Sarah on the bridge. So down,with my heart full of trouble, to the Lieutenant of the Tower, who tellsme that it begun this morning in the King's baker's' house inPudding-lane, and that it hath burned St. Magnus's Church and most part ofFish-street already. So I down to the water-side, and there got a boatand through bridge, and there saw a lamentable fire. Poor Michell'shouse, as far as the Old Swan, already burned that way, and the firerunning further, that in a very little time it got as far as theSteeleyard, while I was there. Everybody endeavouring to remove theirgoods, and flinging into the river or bringing them into lighters thatlayoff; poor people staying in their houses as long as till the very firetouched them, and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair ofstairs by the water-side to another. And among other things, the poorpigeons, I perceive, were loth to leave their houses, but hovered aboutthe windows and balconys till they were, some of them burned, their wings,and fell down. Having staid, and in an hour's time seen the fire: rageevery way, and nobody, to my sight, endeavouring to quench it, but toremove their goods, and leave all to the fire, and having seen it get asfar as the Steele-yard, and the wind mighty high and driving it into theCity; and every thing, after so long a drought, proving combustible, eventhe very stones of churches, and among other things the poor steeple bywhich pretty Mrs.--------lives, and whereof my old school-fellow Elboroughis parson, taken fire in the very top, an there burned till it fell down:I to White Hall (with a gentleman with me who desired to go off from theTower, to see the fire, in my boat); to White Hall, and there up to theKings closett in the Chappell, where people come about me, and did givethem an account dismayed them all, and word was carried in to the King.So I was called for, and did tell the King and Duke of Yorke what I saw,and that unless his Majesty did command houses to be pulled down nothingcould stop the fire. They seemed much troubled, and the King commanded meto go to my Lord Mayor--[Sir Thomas Bludworth. See June 30th,1666.]--from him, and command him to spare no houses, but to pull downbefore the fire every way. The Duke of York bid me tell him that if hewould have any more soldiers he shall; and so did my Lord Arlingtonafterwards, as a great secret. [Sir William Coventry wrote to Lord Arlington on the evening of this day, "The Duke of York fears the want of workmen and tools to-morrow morning, and wishes the deputy lieutenants and justices of peace to summon the workmen with tools to be there by break of day. In some churches and chapels are great hooks for pulling down houses, which should be brought ready upon the place to-night against the morning" ("Calendar of State Papers," 1666-66, p. 95).]Here meeting, with Captain Cocke, I in his coach, which he lent me, andCreed with me to Paul's, and there walked along Watlingstreet, as well asI could, every creature coming away loaden with goods to save, and hereand there sicke people carried away in beds. Extraordinary good goodscarried in carts and on backs. At last met my Lord Mayor inCanningstreet, like a man spent, with a handkercher about his neck. Tothe King's message he cried, like a fainting woman, "Lord! what can I do?I am spent: people will not obey me. I have been pulling down houses; butthe fire overtakes us faster than we can do it." That he needed no moresoldiers; and that, for himself, he must go and refresh himself, havingbeen up all night. So he left me, and I him, and walked home, seeingpeople all almost distracted, and no manner of means used to quench thefire. The houses, too, so very thick thereabouts, and full of matter forburning, as pitch and tarr, in Thames-street; and warehouses of oyle, andwines, and brandy, and other things. Here I saw Mr. Isaake Houblon, thehandsome man, prettily dressed and dirty, at his door at Dowgate,receiving some of his brothers' things, whose houses were on fire; and, ashe says, have been removed twice already; and he doubts (as it soonproved) that they must be in a little time removed from his house also,which was a sad consideration. And to see the churches all filling withgoods by people who themselves should have been quietly there at thistime. By this time it was about twelve o'clock; and so home, and therefind my guests, which was Mr. Wood and his wife Barbary Sheldon, and alsoMr. Moons: she mighty fine, and her husband; for aught I see, a likelyman. But Mr. Moone's design and mine, which was to look over my closettand please him with the sight thereof, which he hath long desired, waswholly disappointed; for we were in great trouble and disturbance at thisfire, not knowing what to think of it. However, we had an extraordinarygood dinner, and as merry, as at this time we could be. While at dinnerMrs. Batelier come to enquire after Mr. Woolfe and Stanes (who, it seems,are related to them), whose houses in Fish-street are all burned; and theyin a sad condition. She would not stay in the fright. Soon as dined, Iand Moone away, and walked, through the City, the streets full of nothingbut people and horses and carts loaden with goods, ready to run over oneanother, and, removing goods from one burned house to another. They nowremoving out of Canning-streets (which received goods in the morning) intoLumbard-streets, and further;and among others I now saw my little goldsmith, Stokes, receiving somefriend's goods, whose house itself was burned the day after. We parted atPaul's; he home, and I to Paul's Wharf, where I had appointed a boat toattend me, and took in Mr. Carcasse and his brother, whom I met in thestreets and carried them below and above bridge to and again to see thefire, which was now got further, both below and above and no likelihood ofstopping it. Met with the King and Duke of York in their barge, and withthem to Queenhith and there called Sir Richard Browne to them. Their orderwas only to pull down houses apace, and so below bridge the water-side;but little was or could be done, the fire coming upon them so fast. Goodhopes there was of stopping it at the Three Cranes above, and atButtolph's Wharf below bridge, if care be used; but the wind carries itinto the City so as we know not by the water-side what it do there. Riverfull of lighters and boats taking in goods, and good goods swimming in thewater, and only I observed that hardly one lighter or boat in three thathad the goods of a house in, but there was a pair of Virginalls [The virginal differed from the spinet in being square instead of triangular in form. The word pair was used in the obsolete sense of a set, as we read also of a pair of organs. The instrument is supposed to have obtained its name from young women, playing upon it.]in it. Having seen as much as I could now, I away to White Hall byappointment, and there walked to St. James's Parks, and there met my wifeand Creed and Wood and his wife, and walked to my boat; and there upon thewater again, and to the fire up and down, it still encreasing, and thewind great. So near the fire as we could for smoke; and all over theThames, with one's face in the wind, you were almost burned with a showerof firedrops. This is very true; so as houses were burned by these dropsand flakes of fire, three or four, nay, five or six houses, one fromanother. When we could endure no more upon the water; we to a littleale-house on the Bankside, over against the 'Three Cranes, and there staidtill it was dark almost, and saw the fire grow; and, as it grew darker,appeared more and more, and in corners and upon steeples, and betweenchurches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the City, in amost horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame of an ordinaryfire. Barbary and her husband away before us. We staid till, it beingdarkish, we saw the fire as only one entire arch of fire from this to theother side the bridge, and in a bow up the hill for an arch of above amile long: it made me weep to see it. The churches, houses, and all onfire and flaming at once; and a horrid noise the flames made, and thecracking of houses at their ruins. So home with a sad heart, and therefind every body discoursing and lamenting the fire; and poor Tom Hatercome with some few of his goods saved out of his house, which is burnedupon Fish-streets Hall. I invited him to lie at my house, and did receivehis goods, but was deceived in his lying there, the newes coming everymoment of the growth of the fire; so as we were forced to begin to pack upour owne goods; and prepare for their removal; and did by moonshine (itbeing brave dry, and moon: shine, and warm weather) carry much of my goodsinto the garden, and Mr. Hater and I did remove my money and iron chestsinto my cellar, as thinking that the safest place. And got my bags ofgold into my office, ready to carry away, and my chief papers of accountsalso there, and my tallys into a box by themselves. So great was ourfear, as Sir W. Batten hath carts come out of the country to fetch awayhis goods this night. We did put Mr. Hater, poor man, to bed a little;but he got but very little rest, so much noise being in my house, takingdown of goods.