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NPBlue said:
The official number of people killed was six.

Parish records and dates on gravestones indicate a much higher fatality rate.
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I doubt any figures about this, one way or the other.

Wouldn't most of the relevant parish records (if any) have been burnt?

Legible gravestones 359 years old? Not many of them about in London now, I bet - it's hard to read 19th century ones, never mind 17th century ones. How many of the great unwashed would have had a gravestone in 1666?
 
the blue panther said:
I doubt any figures about this, one way or the other.

Wouldn't most of the relevant parish records (if any) have been burnt?

Legible gravestones 359 years old? Not many of them about in London now, I bet - it's hard to read 19th century ones, never mind 17th century ones. How many of the great unwashed would have had a gravestone in 1666?
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OK. Doubt it then, but the parish records do, indeed, exist, as do the gravestones with their dates clearly visible.

Reading those is the reason we suspect more than six people died, and taking your point about the great unwashed not having gravestones, that will put the figure even higher as it's a reasonable assumption.

There would have been the old and infirm that couldn't make their escape, children disorientated without their parents to guide them, and human nature being what it is, people refusing to accept for, whatever reason, the danger heading their way and refusing to move.

The temperature of the fire was such it cremated bodies, leaving little to no trace of them in the ruins.

There is enough evidence written from various sources to suggest the official figure of 6 deaths is nonsense.
 
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NPBlue said:
OK. Doubt it then, but the parish records do, indeed, exist, as do the gravestones with their dates clearly visible.

Reading those is the reason we suspect more than six people died, and taking your point about the great unwashed not having gravestones, that will put the figure even higher as it's a reasonable assumption.

There would have been the old and infirm that couldn't make their escape, children disorientated without their parents to guide them, and human nature being what it is, people refusing to accept for, whatever reason, the danger heading their way and refusing to move.

The temperature of the fire was such it cremated bodies, leaving little to no trace of them in the ruins.

There is enough evidence written from various sources to suggest the official figure of 6 deaths is nonsense.
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Thanks for the reply.
I don't believe the 6 figure and I doubt the accuracy of any the others.
 
_90480587_greatfiremap.jpg.webp


This is the map of the great fire of London with a timeline set out in colours, the great fire took 4 days to traverse to its final destination.

This fire was a building killer not a people killer unlike the 1212 fire which may or may not have killed 3000 people.
 
mexico1970 said:
_90480587_greatfiremap.jpg.webp


This is the map of the great fire of London with a timeline set out in colours, the great fire took 4 days to traverse to its final destination.

This fire was a building killer not a people killer unlike the 1212 fire which may or may not have killed 3000 people.
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It's amazing that the Barbican Theatre withstood the flames.
 
the blue panther said:
Thanks for the reply.
I don't believe the 6 figure and I doubt the accuracy of any the others.
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OK. Fair enough.

6 is the official deathtoll, but no other figure has been stated other than it's likely to be much larger.

I'm curious. What do you believe?
 
NPBlue said:
OK. Fair enough.

6 is the official deathtoll, but no other figure has been stated other than it's likely to be much larger.

I'm curious. What do you believe?
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Just my twopenneth; I've been reading the Diary of Samuel Pepys and, as far as I can see, he makes no mention of casualties whatsoever which does suggest that casualties were extremely low. Certainly people seem to have had sufficient time to remove their goods;

"Everybody endeavouring to remove their goods, and flinging them into the river or bringing them into lighters that lay off; poor people staying in their houses as long as till the fire touched them and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs by the waterside to another"

"
 
Newman Noggs said:
Just my twopenneth; I've been reading the Diary of Samuel Pepys and, as far as I can see, he makes no mention of casualties whatsoever which does suggest that casualties were extremely low. Certainly people seem to have had sufficient time to remove their goods;

"Everybody endeavouring to remove their goods, and flinging them into the river or bringing them into lighters that lay off; poor people staying in their houses as long as till the fire touched them and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs by the waterside to another"

"
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I'm reading that quote and interpreting it as a description of panic, to be honest.

'Endeavouring to remove their goods', 'flinging them into the river', 'staying in their houses as long as till the fire touched them then runninng into boats', 'clambering from one pair of stairs to another'.

Yes, it doesn't mention casualties, but neither does it suggest a calm and measured wiithdrawl from the approaching flames. People staying put until their houses catch fire and then running to the boats has the air of people in denial of what is happening, and reacting in panic when reality hits them.
 
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The average human has 150,000 hairs on their head. Each hair grows between .2mm and.5mm each day. That equates to 35 metres of extra hair on the head everyday.
 
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