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THE SALAMANDER | AUGUST 2016
Prompted by a simple question, ‘Why would
anybody confess to starting a fire that they
hadn’t, and allow themselves to be hanged
as a consequence?’ world renowned fire
investigator Liveryman Peter Mansi decided
to research the fire and in particular, the way
in which it was investigated at the time. He
used current methodologies to conduct a
cold-case review and his work has highlighted
some serious shortcomings in the original
investigation and the documentation of it. In
places his conclusions are at variance with
those of the parliamentary report. It was this
piece of investigative work that was the catalyst
for the production of this book.
All this, the fire time-line from a forensic
perspective, the history of the fire’s impact
on livery companies and churches and its
impact on the City and its society thereafter,
is presented in this commemorative book. The
Worshipful Company of Firefighters has also
included a suggested ‘Great Fire Walk’ which
will take the reader around many of the places
mentioned in the book.
This book is a commemorative view marking
the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of
London of 1666. The book has been authored
by the Worshipful Company of Firefighters to
provide, from a 21st century perspective, an
educational appreciation of why and how this
fire progressed. It also sets out the impact that
the fire had within the City of London, on livery
companies, churches and on society generally.
It brought about a realisation that fire safety
and fire precautions needed to be enhanced,
and in so doing, stimulated the development of
both fire insurance and organised firefighting
arrangements.
We have dedicated our work to the generations
of firefighters who have for so long protected
our City and its citizens from the scourge of fire
and disaster, and who continue to do so today.
Bruce Hoad
Master Worshipful Company of Firefighters
“The Great Fire of 1666 is one of the most
widely researched topics in world history and, I
believe, the most famous event in British history
overseas. So much has been written about it
in the past that it would be difficult to produce
a commemorative work that is significantly
different from previously published histories,
and yet that is exactly what the Worshipful
Company of Firefighters has managed to do.
In undertaking a forensic review of all the
evidence available, and by applying the latest
fire investigation methodologies to this work,
they have managed to produce a report into
the fire that is both informative and challenging
in its conclusions.”
Alderman the Lord Mountevans
The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of London