All around me people were trying to save possessions. Sadly the poorer people were staying in their houses for as long as possible almost as if until the fire reached them. There was ciaos everywhere! People cramming themselves into boats and people running around not knowing what to
do. The sight of pigeons falling from the sky was not enjoyable in the slightest.
Bearing in mind I had only been there for around an hour the fire had spread so far it was unbelievable. It was not helped by the wind being very strong and driving the fire further into the city.
The fire had made dust of Mrs Horsley’s steeple, which was also where she lived. I went to Whitehall with a random man who wanted to get off the Tower and see the fire from the River in my boat. In Whitehall I went up to the King and the Duke of York to tell them what was going on back in the City, I also explained to him that unless he didn’t get people to pull down houses nothing would stop this fire. The king didn’t seem very pleased with what I suggested, so he told me to go and see the Lord Mayor and tell him to pull down all the houses. When I arrived to see the Mayor he told me that we would be able to do that but only if there were more soldiers and this is exactly what Lord Arlington said as well.
I then went to Watling Street where I walked along the path but people were rushing past me carrying everything they could, packing them in carts.
I met the Mayor in the middle of all this rush looking very startled shouting to me almost like a frantic woman “What can I do? I so tired! People wont listen to me. I’ve pulled down houses. But the fire overtakes us faster that we can do it!” He was basically telling me that we need more soldiers to control the state of the City. We left each other and as I walked home I saw people trying to put the fire bout themselves. The fire was just eating everything and I knew that there was nothing I could do about it.
It got to about 12 o’clock and I had to go home because I had guest waiting, a Mr wood, his wife and Mr Moone. After are meal we all left the house to go back to the City. Where it was still manic, streets full of people still rescuing their possessions, loading carts full of them nearly running over one another. We all split and I meet the King and Duke of York in their Barge and with them was the Queen Hith and a man they called Sir Rd. Browne. They said that only the houses by the river should be pulled down but i knew full well that nothing was going to stop this fire. I had slight hopes that something could be done about this fire near Three Cranes but we would have to be very careful.
As I looked around the river it was so weird seeing it packed with people and boats full off all their things. I had seem enough and went again to Whitehall and there I walked to St. James’s Park and met my wife and Creed, Wood and his wife we all walked to my boat where the fire was so close now to the water. The smoke was so thick that it covered our faces and it was hard to breath.
What looked like firedrops and flakes of fire were just burning the home of all these people it was so distressing to watch. We couldn’t take much more of what was going on, on the river so we stayed at a small house on the bank side over against the near the Three Cranes where we watched the fire grow even more.
This incident would change London forever.
By Katherine Trott
