The Story Of The Small Oven Fire That Nearly Destroyed London

Dan Jones visits the exact location of the bakery where it started, Suzannah Lipscomb reveals how Londoners tried to save their belongings, and Rob Bell investigates 17th-century building materials and the prevailing weather conditions.
It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit, the world's best history documentary service and get 50% off using the code 'AbsoluteHistory' bit.ly/3vn5cSH
This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [e-mail]

[@okoswiata5850]

This channel is just giving me a great escape from reality to the investigation on Britain's past. I'm not a British but I love it 😆😆

[@CasualMicb]

True so True🤣

[@fetus2280]

If you like good docs and want to see More of the UK and history, I suggest you look for and watch the series called "Walking Through History " with Host sir Tony Robbins . Shows the majority of the country and loads of great stories, tales, folklore and True history . Cheers.

[@z_ed]

I'm american and I can't get enough, lol. African American 😂

[@okoswiata5850]

@@z_ed lol and I'm Indonesian, the culture is just so different here

[@sadiedayz2405]

Take a peek at their home page and other videos, they touch on everything from Egypt to the Kennedy family! Hours of joy!

[@KuranYuuki88]

I clicked this the moment i saw Dr Suzanna in the thumbnail while star struck😳

[@CaKeBDA]

I love this lady. When ever she is in a old england documentary I enjoy it so much.

[@huipingtan8662]

Her voice is so soothing XD

[@Shezzowicked03]

me too..

[@annikabjornson998]

She’s very good at looking regretful.

[@kille7543]

She is also going to join the new “Time Team” 😃

[@sashaconrad3939]

She’s great!

[@celticlass8573]

Close your eyes and picture, as you're listening to the bells, what it would have been like to wake up out of a deep sleep to the sound of church warning bells going off, and then realizing it was coming from more than one direction. Completely terrifying. And then as you realize what's happening, the choking smoke and people screaming, and the bells continue above the flames as you flee for your life.

[@snowd_nia]

i would've been in too deep a sleep to notice in time tbh

[@alexstephens5877]

I worked fighting forest fires for some years when I still lived on the West Coast. Standing orders were, when the wind picks up, run. There's nothing else you can do, it spreads kilometers in minutes.

[@celticlass8573]

BBC historical series really are some of the best out there for British history. I'm so glad this channel has been getting permission to upload them!

[@EmilyKresl]

Just seeing Suzannah Lipscomb is in this program made me stop EVERYTHING and watch it. As an american who never even heard of the great fire I found this to be thoroughly interesting AND entertaining. Thank you for teaching me something new so glamorously.

[@hulklingloveswiccan]

I’m so glad Suzannah is back, no offense to that old guy lately. I like her voice.

[@StanHowse]

I like her face.

[@ataricom]

I like her everything

[@blnfth87]

Omg me too!!! I like the way she narrates better.

[@johnc2438]

@@ataricom I second that motion -- from Oregon, USA!

[@kimballscarr]

Yes, the good Doctor is welcome to break the pale and dreary of Almirina's lamment, brilliantly and in good time and pitch kzbin.info/www/bejne/laDVgYiCm5eknpI , though it is sure to give my poor mother pain as to the care of the locks... !

[@brazillady5119]

“In sixteen hundred-sixty-six, London burned like rotten sticks.”

[@saragarofano6471]

(1)666 inferno (hell, from Italian)

[@michealpersicko9531]

@@saragarofano6471 Inferno's Italian for hell, REALLY?? Gee i wonder where the fuck dante was from when he written inferno? Let me guess; Neapolitan is italian for ice cream?

[@nowandaround312]

@@saragarofano6471 ...What are you trying to say?

[@kristic4472]

I live in Southern California, I definitely know about what wind can do to a wildfire, and the destruction it can and does cause. Those poor people caught up in London's fire. What terror and pain they suffered.

[@Boooo_39]

Lifelong Southern California resident. 33 people dead during our 2020 fire season, To those who dont know, they are so ridiculously destructive and terrifying that once the wind comes, all firefighters can do is evacuate people (ideally before the wind is expected). These fires remind us how small and helpless we are. Humans have nothing on nature, as much as we think we can control it

[@kristic4472]

@@Boooo_39 yup. I live near the Woolsey fire (18), Thomas fire (17), and Easy fire (19)

[@alexstephens5877]

@@Boooo_39 Yup. I used to work on the fireline in the summer when I lived on the West Coast, and as soon as the wind came, our standing orders were to run, because there wasn't anything else we could do.

[@billieford9683]

I was an unwilling participant of the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa, CA in 2017 and lost everything. Sadly, 2 neighbors perished and 1 couple spent the night in their swimming pool. Absolute destruction as if it had been bombed. People were lucky to get out with their lives down the narrow 2 lane roads with trees ablaze all around snapping and popping and the wind howling. Sheer terror. Thousands of homes destroyed.

[@MissCV]

You understand wildfire, not rampant building fires. An entire city on fire is much more different than a fire in the sticks.

[@edwelndiobel1567]

The hidden killer...BREAD!!!

[@feralbluee]

good one!! 😋

[@ozzy2637]

I can't even imagine how much history and personal property was lost.

[@laurelh7536]

Me neither! I can't even imagine that level of destruction. It must have been awful.

[@graceamerican3558]

All those books … paper… maps. The lives and homes. I’m not sure I want to think about the population of stray animals…. and the livery stables.

[@iamdinosaur4245]

As a person who loves documentaries, thank you for putting these up for free on youtube!

[@rosella4467]

Its not for free they get paid by KZbin when people click on their videos and watch them.

[@iamdinosaur4245]

@@rosella4467 I know they are getting paid. Good for them. Documentaries need money. I am thankful that they provide this online for free to the public. That is what I am thankful for.

[@walterfechter8080]

My Gran lived in London during The Blitz. She once told me, "As horrific as the fires caused by German bombs were, they paled in comparison to 'The Great Fire.'"

[@kille7543]

Man, your granny must be old. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@leahyfamily393]

It is insane that this channel is creating such top tier content. Netflix should give you guys a series.

[@ArcanineEspeon]

0:35 Holy crap, I have family members named Lipscomb, and this is literally the first time in 20 years I can remember seeing this name belong to someone I don't know personally.

[@VandashStumpedKnee]

She's one of my favorite British historians Suzannah Lipscomb

[@seanmcplace6561]

I lost everything I owned in the California Tubbs Fire. I can understand the terror and grief; and the heat and smoke that my skin and thoughts will never forget.

[@mikkelnpetersen]

26:35 Never underestimate the incompetence, of a man in power, who only looks after his own ass.

[@TraditionalAnglican]

I’m sure he told the rich homeowners what he needed to do, &, just like the ones during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake & Fire, they screamed, “Bloody Murder!” Unlike the US Army Corps of Engineers who pulled them down over the rich people’s objections, he gave in & let them have their way.

[@WitchidWitchid]

Sounds like an interesting time. I would have liked to have been around to experience life as it was back then.

[@feralbluee]

i just realized, there would have been horses, dogs, cats, birds (geese), and rats in the crowds fleeing in terror. imagine?!

[@MsMedford]

RIP to the animals that didn't make it out🥺

[@glasslinger]

What is most amazing is that this situation didn't happen more often.

[@frauleinbird]

That's what I've been thinking of the "great fire" of my hometown, too. A spark from a chimney set fire to a bypassing hay wagon, and the panicking horse carried the fire through the whole city. I'm just amazed this was the only time this happened.

[@mira6969]

@@frauleinbird if it wasn’t so horrible, it would be quite comical

[@BB-un2ts]

In fact, fires where commons, but not as huge as this one.

[@maysaniyazova]

Dr. Lipscomb never disappoints. Excellent doc!!!

[@lottevannoort1211]

1666, very fitting for an inferno, with 666 so clearly in there...

[@tanyareavis787]

I noticed that too

[@luxixluxix]

They were also suffering with a round of plague! Not a good year to be a Londoner

[@janaja7199]

good point 👍

[@MatthewSpencerKociol]

Don't forget Mayor Bloodworth! London history is so metal.

[@moonyasnow36]

Suzannah and Dan are honestly 2 of my favorite English history documentarists

[@celticlass8573]

Lets not forget the Great Plague of London was also happening during this time.

[@graceamerican3558]

I was thinking about that. The Fire must have killed a few rats.

[@graceamerican3558]

@@Tsumami__ Yes. They killed black cats thinking they belonged to witches. sigh They would have helped.

[@frauleinbird]

@@Tsumami__ wouldn't have helped. They killed all cats and dogs the year before, thinking they were spreading the plague.

[@JorgeMedina-wp4gb]

Imagine the 666 year number and the faith of people then

[@yeseniaomartinez]

yay i love suzannah and dan 🖤

[@LauraTeAhoWhite]

King Charles the 2nd was a boss during this period. Not only did he bring back partying, but he also ordered fire breaks to be created to stop the spread of the fire. He didn't fuel hate against the dutch. He gave rewards to people who fought the fire and assisted those who lost their homes and were hungry.

[@madolynesaleigh8328]

Glimpses of their handwriting is absolutely beautiful!! I hate that we seem to have lost the art of such elegant writing.

[@mariemorgan7759]

I learned from the third grade to write in cursive. I used to have beautiful handwriting in highschool. I am trying to write a little in a journal so I do not loose that ability.

[@juliaforsyth8332]

@@mariemorgan7759 When I was i Primary School we started with pencil and then graduated to Fountain pens. e were taught cursive and penmanship. My dughter at 28 can't read or write cursive. I think alot was lost when schools stopped teaching this. I still love writing with a fountain pen and different coloured inks in my journal.

[@mariemorgan7759]

@@juliaforsyth8332 very true! I heard that they no longer teach home economics in high school anymore. Also a sad loss for a generation to learn to become self reliant in running a budget for a household. Business math is the best class I ever learned anything valuable from too!

[@kille7543]

Teach your children then.🤗

[@OstblockLatina]

I look at those houses whose upper floors would come so close together over the streets, and I get to understand why children of poor people living in large cities suffered from a mass scale rickets. If those kids spent their entire childhood just in those streets, it's no wonder they never got enough sunlight to get their bodies to produce vitamin D for their bones.

[@guitarguy5]

As a yank from across the pond, I went to London a few years ago and I literally was at the spot where the bakery fire started and didn't know

[@ella_cinder4361]

I knew the devastation was vast; I didn't realize how tightly compact the city was 🥴🥺. Interesting how the buildings were shaped. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

[@stephenbarnes7241]

Yaaassss Dr. Lipscomb! I need more of her in vids. And more hidden killers thx.

[@BeachcomberNZ]

I wonder what London would look like today if the Great Fire had never happened?

[@bridittebargeot2679]

It would have burned down another day 🤣

[@maryearll3359]

Congratulations to Dr Lipscomb on being made a Professor. Well deserved, I enjoy all her documentaries.

[@tanyareavis787]

It must have seem like it was the end of the world like hell on earth for those people.

[@celticlass8573]

And lets not forget the Great Plague of London was also happening during this time.

[@tanyareavis787]

@@celticlass8573 Oh wow I didn't even think of that . Horrible times for London !

[@celticlass8573]

@@tanyareavis787 No kidding. And that's not even the run-of-the-mill ways they could die back then, plus the crappy jobs people had to do, poor living conditions etc.

[@testtestesen9702]

Where is uss Iowa when you need her?

[@sinisterspeedah1908]

Missed Suzannah!!! Glad to see her back!

[@by14996]

Don't know those 2 guys with her, but Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb (recognize the title) should demand her accreditation at the beginning in the title. She is the proper historian and resident expert I think!

[@margarethoskins6625]

Dan jones is a wonderful historian, I have a number of his books. Including ones on the wars of the roses and the Templars. Most informative and keep you wanting to read more.

[@margarethoskins6625]

He's the one carrying a lamp with Suzanne, and alone.

[@margarethoskins6625]

Suzannah

[@shuukenji6585]

Great fire of London started at 1666... Hmmm... *(Looks at Satan)* Satan: Dont look at me... It was aaaaah... That guy! *( points at baker)*

[@moniqueau27]

Then the baker points to Goss

[@May-zp6en]

Plot twist ,the baker was satan in a human form

[@HaabL.]

The bells part touched me, just to imagine the fear and despair of people without knowing how big that fire really would be 😖😢

[@garygone5234]

Three very good and intelligent hosts and Dr. Lipscomb is a beauty to behold.

[@winterkrash]

I love how they put a human face in telling the story of the Great Fire. The personal lives of actual, real-life merchants and people who lived at the time it happened. Made this a more interesting documentary-you can identify with people of various walks of life and their reactions to the fire. Again, very well done. Plus it’s Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb. 👍

[@blueberrychocolate4238]

I never knew The Great Fire of London could be so interesting!

[@davidsradioroom9678]

Can't wait for the next installment.

[@KJ-xx6xr]

I'll be honest...I remember the year of the London fire from 8th grade history in the USA. They never bothered to tell us how it started and I know it wasn't in the history text book either. Frankly they were busy telling us about Cows kicking stuff over in Chicago(fake) but didn't teach us about Pestigo Fire(same night, way worse loss of life).

[@sweetlikehoney5216]

Yay! I absolutely love British TV. So much better than the states

[@20greeneyes20]

That you know of that is....

[@777blazek]

I agree!

[@mikkelnpetersen]

Docus from the US tend to have an overdramatic narrator and making dumb jokes.

[@johnc2438]

@@mikkelnpetersen ...and they don't have the posh British accents we love on the west side of the Pond!

[@flygirl4983]

I spend alot of time in London. Yes, documentaries are well done; BUT - the rest is game shows and dumb sitcoms. Graham Norton is the only late nite entertainment. You can watch hilarious clips of his show on YT.

[@flayful]

Two of my favorite historians: Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb!!! Awesome! ❤️

[@shannonbritton5313]

Is it just me or are these the best looking historians ever? 🤭💙💚💜✌💕💕

[@janaja7199]

too dramatic

[@allisonburris5681]

Dan and Dr Lipscomb- two of my favorites!!

[@inspirationmovemebrightly9627]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier curl pattern in my life 😍

[@lairdcummings9092]

Details. All the details. This is gripping television.

[@b.powell3480]

Similar to the great Chicago fire and Mrs oleary's cow !

[@LakinMae5]

As an Illionisain, the Chicago fire is always an interesting tale!

[@kenn82draw]

22:25 I think Sybil was selling more than those shoes...🤔

[@joannmiffleton9290]

Thank you for a brilliant history lesson! And, Suzannah, red is your color!! Jo Ann Miffleton Virginia, USA

[@elisunday1304]

Chief bell ringer? Does he have business cards? That would be awesome!

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Gotta love the ironic English sense of humor, calling a mixture of manure, urine & other waste “Pudding”!

[@ArcanineEspeon]

And here I thought Pudding Lane referring to offal was gross enough on its own! I definitely have to respect Britain naming a street after exactly what you'd find there.

[@OstblockLatina]

Welp, you only need to look at an actual English pudding. It does look like contents of where it's going to end up in, even before it gets there...

[@breadcrumbhoarder]

Is it just me, or does it not really matter where a fire started if it burned down a whole city? Like clearly the place was a tinderbox, it could have been anyone’s small fire that set it alight, it was inevitable.

[@nomdeguerre247]

Details matter. The fact that the exact spot where the great fire started can be pinpointed after 350 years is amazing.

[@breadcrumbhoarder]

@@nomdeguerre247 i mean it’s very cool but in a novelty kind of way, in the end it doesn’t help to know where it started if you’re trying to prevent future fires

[@nomdeguerre247]

@@breadcrumbhoarder Are you serious? Think carefully about what you typed.

[@breadcrumbhoarder]

@@nomdeguerre247 I’m talking city wide fires. Obviously it matters to know where a fire starts in a house that burns down but when a whole city burns down than the starting place doesn’t matter. Any house fire could have caused it. It’s like trying to find the first log to catch fire in a fireplace, it doesn’t matter because any log could’ve been the log, the more important thing in city wide fire is the circumstances which caused the place to be comparable to a fireplace.

[@breadcrumbhoarder]

Unless it was arson

[@technocatification]

love this woman

[@rra022001]

her facial expression regarding that "dodgy" joke is hysterical! I thoroughly enjoy listening to her revelations.

[@pclams]

Yes please post more dr suzannah videos

[@margaretwojcicki3189]

Watching from the US. Absolutely love this informative series!

[@melanyracheltoussaintsosa7499]

*0:27** I thought that the guy name was Red Bull as the drink 🍺😅🤣😂😂😅🤣*

[@sarahmoviereviewer4109]

Rip all the people who lost their lives!

[@PeiPeisMom]

The Diary of Samuel Pepys has some wild entries about this fire and what it was like for people during it.

[@adamogilvie6951]

Read the diaries of Samuel pepys. Second volume. He gives you a first hand account of the great fire of London. Loved it!

[@adm2arkhm870]

I LOVE Dr. Lipscomb! Her voice is up there with David Attenboroughs

[@rra022001]

I include John Bercow incessant debates, diatribes and musings in that list.

[@brianeleighton]

What boggles my mind was how truly shitty 1665-66 was for the people of London. In 1665, London was ravaged by an epidemic of the Black Death. The final wave of deaths was in December of that year. The survivors of that horrific epidemic then suffered the worst fire in London's entire history less than a calendar year later. Makes me think 2020-21 is not so bad after all.

[@annfisher3316]

Outstanding video with a variety of interesting knowledge, brilliant! 🤗👏🔥👍

[@anthonychs]

this is so amazing. thanks for making this.

[@sherry866]

Dear God, Such Horrific Devastation ! Very Sad RIP Dearest Ones ⚘♥️🎈

[@ashleelorendabird2474]

I'm American but....I absolutely love the history of the British. They have thousands of years of crazy intense history that is so captivating. I just recently got super into learning more about their past and its almost unbelievable how much info they actually still have in archives. So rich in history I love it! Americans are just infants in comparison.

[@emilenetabud6959]

I love watching these documentaries. I miss visiting England

[@j.d.9010]

I love your channel/content. Always so interesting!

[@lisaenglert3202]

Love this series. Can’t wait for part 2

[@jamieyoho2310]

Dan and Suzanne! I love it. Thank u so much!

[@0hMyLife]

I love everything this channel puts out!!! I can't get enough!!! I absolutely love British history!!!

[@albertconstantine5432]

Pepys' house didn't burn. Nice show - the exuberance and occasionally incorrect info makes for a clash, which I like.

[@nomdeguerre247]

Where did they say that?

[@ardenalexa94]

Love these three together. I hope they do more shows together.

[@samfiadrangus9188]

I am so in love with Dr. Susannah Lipscomb. And it's not just because she's easy on the eyes. What an excellent historian and presenter.

[@fodicky4]

Masterclass in documentary and history!!!

[@wooderdsaunders6801]

All Thomas Bloodworth needed was a fiddle. Add this to the 1665-66 London plague .

[@varntokodus9650]

My ex roommate threw a cigarette out into the bin where they were supposed to be, and my whole balcony caught fire. Firefighters actually asked me if I wanted a job because I apparently put the fire out very effectively lol

[@pinkcrazygirl]

Finally, Dan Jones is back 🥰

[@MagdaleneDivine]

I absolutely love Rob Bell

[@winterkrash]

I’m happy to see Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb 🙂. I love her.

[@JWinslow11]

Two of my ALL TIME FAVE historians!!!!

[@m_t3901]

Absolutely adore this channel and the Historians🥰

[@TeacherBeesABCs-123s]

Absolute History is my Absolute favorite KZbin channel!!!😍

[@jessicak3377]

Please put the part numbers in the title, thanks. I'm interested in the topic but it's a pain jumping from video to video to find part 1.

[@karenmendoza23]

I’m ready for the next episode! Give me the goods! 😆

[@jaspertheo7040]

Yeyy Suzannah is back!

[@JHNielson4851]

I wonder how much of the wind was caused by the fire itself, aka a firestorm.

[@777blazek]

Love history ♥

[@cortsluke7420]

Always liked this kind of stuff, I know a bit about British history more than my own, only cause they invaded and erased most of my own

[@Adrian-qk9jh]

Love these

[@greygreenblack]

I watch anything with beautiful Dr. Lipscomb in it.

[@midbc1midbc199]

I don't think it was the walls so much that made the houses burn so well......I have a hunch that it was the wooden beams and decorative touches that gave the fire so much fuel

[@graysonevans9066]

More videos with Suzannah !!

[@danjenkins8981]

@16:00 imagine being awakened by church bells at 2 in the morning! The panic would set in instantly!

[@sarahadair7320]

Been there. When the bonfire fell at Texas a&m university, I was a freshman in the dorms. It didn't feel real...

[@kille7543]

The bells wouldn’t have woken me. 😳

[@lanareed214]

I NEED PART 2 WATCHED THIS EVERYDAY FOR 6 DAYS NOW! PART 2 ! PART 2! PLEASE! WITH LOVE- Lana Found it😁

[@LunasofficialMum]

What a fantastic video. KZbin at its finest. I have always been a fan of Dr. Suzzanah Lipscomb but honestly, I love the trio and how they reported on the Great Fire of London. I can't wait for the next episode!!!