Tuesday 4th September – The Fire at full fury!

Now begins the practice of blowing up of houses in Tower-streete, those next the Tower, which at first did frighten people more than anything, but it stopped the fire where it was done, it bringing down the houses to the ground in the same places they stood, and then it was easy to quench what little fire was in it, though it kindled nothing almost. W. Hewer this day went to see how his mother did, and comes late home, telling us how he hath been forced to remove her toIslington, her house in Pye-corner being burned; so that the fire is got so far that way, and all the Old Bayly, and was running down to Fleete-streete; and Pauls is burned, and all Cheapside. I wrote to my father this night, but the post-house being burned, the letter could not go. Samuel Pepys Diary for 4th September 1666.

Extent of fire damage on 4th September (with thanks to wikipedia for image)

Tuesday 4th September 1666 was the worst day of the Great Fire of London. The strong wind was still blowing north and west and was driving the inferno onwards. This was the day when panic really began to set in at Westminster. The king’s court began making plans to evacuate even though the fire was still some distance away. Yet there was hope even in the midst of unbelievable destruction.

The Fire Jumps the River Fleet

James, Duke of York and his men were working flat out to try and stem the westward flow of the fire. They had hoped that the River Fleet – a refuse filled sliver running south towards the Thames – would be a barrier to the fire. This was a vain hope as the fire jumped the river and ignited buildings on its west bank and then advanced on towards the Temple and the Inns of Court. Despite the disappointment, James carried on pulling down buildings, trying desperately to create a fire break in the west.

The Great Church Burns

St Paul’s Cathedral was one of the wonders of the Christian World. Its spire (which fell down after a storm some years before) had been one of the highest in the world and it still loomed over the city. It was natural that people should put their faith in its vastness. As the fire rolled west towards the cathedral that Tuesday those living in the area, including the booksellers that populated the region around it hurried to push belongings into the vault and interior and up against the walls hoping the churchyards and the stone walls would protect them. This proved a vain hope.

The church had been neglected during the years of the Commonwealth and in 1666 Christopher Wren had erected scaffolding to help him restore it. That same scaffolding caught fire. the fire spread to the roof and soon the structure was inflames – a vast fireball in the centre of the flaming city.

The fire was so hot that the roof tiles melted and lead ran down the street. The tombs and coffins burst asunder and corpses literally fell and leapt out of them including a remarkably preserved bishop of two hundred years before who landed on his feet and became, after the fire, a celebrity visited by celebrities and common folk.

Samuel Pepys lends a hand.

The first glimmer of hope that the fire could be contained started when parties of soldiers, one led by Samuel Pepys,   rolled barrels of gunpowder from the Tower into the streets nearby and started blowing up whole blocks of housing. This proved one of the only effective means of stopping the fire. In the east – where the fire had been approaching the Tower itself – the fire was under control but in the west the fire incinerated Cheapside and the city markets and rolled on by the Cathedral and seemed as unstoppable as ever.

In the fields around the city a vast population settled down to sleep rough through the third night of the fire, many believing that the end of the world had truly come.

See: Monday 3rd September – The Fire Spreads

Tomorrow: Wednesday 4th September – Hope at last!

This article is one of a series connected with the release in August of the new paperback of The Last Seal my historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666.

About four o’clock in the morning, my Lady Batten sent me a cart to carry away all my money, and plate, and best things, to Sir W. Riders at Bednall-greene. Which I did riding myself in my night-gowne in the cart; and, Lord! to see how the streets and the highways are crowded with people running and riding, and getting of carts at any rate to fetch away things. Samuel Pepys Diary for 3rd September 1666.

By Monday morning, with the fire 24 hours old, the flames are spreading quickly west and north. Yet still no real efforts to contain the fire have been made,

James Duke of York

The Duke of York is given command

The Lord Mayor appears to have abandoned any effort to fight the fire. After his failures of Sunday, Bloodworth is not mentioned in any accounts and is not certain what he was doing or where he went. Technically direct authority over the city of London lay in the Mayor’s hands and most definitely NOT the King. Indeed on the Sunday the mayor had turned down offers of direct help from the king. Charles ignored this and did send troops. ON Monday with the Mayor having thrown in the towel, Charles decided to take definitive action and appointed James, Duke of York and his own brother the task of coordinating the fire fighting efforts. James took to the task at once and deployed regiments of his own soldiers on the street. He had to contend with two main problems in order to get near the fire :

Paranoia and Blame

The people of London, terrified of the fire and furious at the destruction did what most men and women do at such times. They try and find someone to blame. In London in September 1666 there were plenty of people to blame. England was at war with both France and Holland in the Second Anglo Dutch War. So any foreigners -especially from Holland or France were set upon in the streets and accused of Arson. They were searched and if matches found were beaten or even threatened with hanging. Astrologers who had predicted a terrible calamity on 1666 were also suspects as were manufacturers of fireworks. Fear of witchcraft meant that some women were attacked – even a poor girl who was caught carrying a chicken in her petticoat which was mistaken for a fireball that she was about to throw. Because of fears of another Gunpowder type plot Catholics were also accused to starting the fire.

Save what you can!

Utter panic set in during Monday as the city folk realised that the destruction could be extensive. Thousands of Londoners evacuated whatever belongings they could in cart, on foot or by boat. Some folk with the eye for making a quick fortune began hiring out carts and boats at exorbitant rates. A cart which before the fire would cost a couple of shillings could be as much at £40 on that monday! The streets were jammed with panicking people, carts, wagons and - desperate to keep order – James’  troops.

The Fire Spreads

The fire – driven on with strengthening winds had reached the North end of London bridge and destroyed it. Fortunately a fire break on the bridge – the result  of a previous fire 30 years before – prevented the fire spreading further south.

Nothing, however, could prevent the fire spreading to engulf the great trade centre of the Royal Exchange on Cornhill which had been build in Queen Elizabeth’s time, nor the loss of the shops on Cheapshide.

“the whole City in dreadful flames near the water-side; all the houses from the Bridge, all Thames-street, and upwards towards Cheapside, down to the Three Cranes, were now consumed” John Evelyn

Extent of fire damage on 3rd September (with thanks to wikipedia for image)

Action at last

Whilst running around protecting foreigners and Catholics and bringing some order to the crowded streets, gradually James establishes working parties – each with orders to pull down houses to slow the spread of the fire. Furthermore wealthy citizens began paying for hired labour to help with the efforts. It was not much but we start to see the types of actions that will eventually save London.

See: Sunday 2nd September – The Fire Starts

Tomorrow: Tuesday 4th September – The Fire at full fury!

This article is one of a series I wrote some years ago connected with the release that August of the paperback of The Last Seal my historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666.

Here by ye permission of heaven, hell broke loose upon this Protestant city.

Original Engraving on the Great Fire Mounment

Jane called up about three in the morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose, and slipped on my night-gown and went to her window, and thought it to be on the back side of Mark Lane at the farthest; but, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off, and so went to bed again, and to sleep. . . . By and by Jane comes and tells me that she hears that above 300 houses have been burned down tonight by the fire we saw, and that it is now burning down 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, . . .and there I did see the houses at the end of the bridge all on fire, and an infinite great fire on this and the other side . . . of the bridge. . . . Samuel Pepys Diary for 2nd September 1666

Extent of Fire damage on 2nd September (with thanks to Wikipedia for the image)

In 1666 London was a bonfire ready to light. It was built of wood and thatch buildings – teetering tenements that leaned close together. It was full of foundries and bakers, glaziers and tanners all with fires. Its warehouses stored vast quanities of combustible material. It had little in the way of effective fire fighting procedures. The summer had been long and hot and the city was dry. All it took was a spark.

Thomas Farriner (or Faynor) was the King’s baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. He baked ships biscuits for the Navy. On Saturday 1st September he had retired to bed but someone – himself, his maid or his journeyman had forgotten to put out the fire. Wood, ready for the mornings baking was stacked nearby. Between midnight and 1am on Sunday morning 2nd September it is assumed that a spark from the fire must have ignited the wood. This spread and soon the bakery was in flames. Thomas and his family escaped out of an upstairs window BUT their maid did not escape. Afraid to cross the gap to the roof behind she stayed behind and perished.

Call the Mayor

The fire spread quickly and soon the entire street was on fire. Around the time that Pepys was woken on Seething Lane a little to the east, the Mayor Thomas Bloodworth was summoned and on inspecting the fire made the quote that wouldcome back to bite him later: “Pish! A woman could piss it out”. He returned to bed without giving any orders to pull down any houses to creat fire breaks.

Those trying to fight the fire struggled on but effort were hampered by the fact the pump nearest Pudding Lane was broken. There was some attempt to bring fire engines to the scenes but these were huge and heavy and could not reach the scene.

Pepys takes action but the Mayor does not!

In the morning Samuel Pepys realised that the fire was spreading fast and would soon by out of control. He hurried to White Hall to see the king. Charles II ordered him to tell the Mayor to pull down houses and to take the offer of extra troops from The Duke of York’s guards (commanded by his brother, James). Pepys hurried to see Bloodworth. he found the mayor in a state of hysteria, complaining that no one would obey him. Bloodworth refused the offer of troops. This was because the City had deep suspicions about the crown and indeed had been strongly for parliament during the civil war of only 20 years before. City officials had a fear of royalist troops in the city and wanted to avoid that. Bloodworth also ignored the king’s orders about pulling down buildings, fearful that he would be held financially responsible.

The King views the scene

The King sailed down the river in the afternoon and was apalled at the spread of the fire and even more astonished that his orders had been ignored. He overrode the authority of the mayor in the area west of the fire and started the process of having house pulled down.

Too late

Even the King’s intervention was too late. Strong winds from the south and eats was driving the fire on. In the evening Pepys took a boat to an alehouse on the south bank of the Thamas and stayed there till darkness fell. He wrote later that they could see the fire on London Bridge and across the river, “as only one entire arch of fire from this to the other side of the bridge, and in a bow up the hill for an arch of above a mile long: it made me weep to see it.”

Tomorrow: Monday 3rd September – The Fire Spreads

This article is one of a series I wrote some years ago connected with the release of the new paperback of The Last Seal my historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666.

The population of all of England was only about 4 million people at this time. Greater London had about 300,000 people. Most of the land was rural and people were used to living in small communities except those in the big cities. Nevertheless news did travel about and there are many elements that go into the mix to make up your average Englishman or woman in 1666.

Wars and Kings and Dictators

England was a land where people still remembered the English Civil War of 1642 -51. This had ended only 14 years before and large numbers of the population had fought in the war. Indeed 100,000 people had died in the civil war which it may surprise you to know is a higher % of the population than losses in World War One or Two! That war had shown the deep divides in the land and many of those divides still existed.

At one level the war had been fought between those who believed in the rights and authority of parliament and those who believed in the sovereignty of the King. But it was not as simple as that. Many who fought on one side or the other did so for religious convictions with the Puritans siding with Parliament and those with sympathies for the established church or who were catholic more often favouring the king. Some followed their heart which told them that duty to the king was paramount. Others believed that in opposing the King’s army they were acting to free him from poisonous elements that influenced him.

 Politics and Mistrust

Mistrust was not just confined to home spun plots and enemies. In 1666 England was at war with both Holland and France over domination of the seas and of world trade and everyone was paranoid about foreign spies. As a result all foreigners were viewed with suspicion and stories abounded about atrocities inflicted by these other nations.

Witchcraft and Superstition

This was also a time of superstitions and a period when people believed in omens and magic. The fire occurred during a time when people were tried and hanged for witchcraft – something like 1000 people had been executed as a witch in the century before 1666. It was also a year particularly associated with evil omens and signs. So there was a solar eclipses in the 1666. Comets had been seen in the skies the year before. There were lunar eclipses. All these events were harbingers of doom.

The end of the World

Doom seemed likely to many that year. Although even in our own time every few years people predict that the world will end, many people really believed that 1666 was the end of the world!! This was in part linked to the fact that in the Book of Revelations there is a passage that says that the number of the beast – of the devil is 666. Several famous astrologers has also predicted a great plague in 1665 and a fire in 1666. No doubt many others predicted other events that DID NOT happen so we should not read much into these predictions that did come to be true BUT of course such predictions added to the feelings of anxiety and paranoia that seemed to prevalent at this time.

Of course many people lived their lives concerned with the simple facts of existence. In a time of widespread poverty just getting through each day was a struggle. Nevertheless you can well imagine what, taken as a whole, this mix of fears and anxieties produced in the average man in the street. It did not take much to stir up the London mob and there was more than enough provocation due to the Great Fire.

Here by ye permission of Heaven, Hell broke loose on this protestant city.

Before the Fire – early 1666.

London, in early 1666, was a city still suffering from the great plague. The death rate was slowing down but new cases were still happening even up to the time of the fire. The King and his court has evacuated the city and the government was run from Oxford through the winter and early spring.

Yet in the summer of 1666 life was returning to the city. The markets were open and trade was thriving once more. England was at war with Holland and France and that meant that in the summer the fleet put to sea looking for an engagement that would decide the war. That fleet needed provisions and one of the bakers that supplied the all important ship’s biscuit was Thomas Farriner of Pudding Lane. At the time accusations of conspiracy would fly around the city as rapidly as the fire itself. Catholics were to blame, or French or Dutch spies or maybe republicans. Then again maybe it was the will of God. London was a cesspit of sin and the wrath of God would be visited upon it. That at least was the predictions of astrologers before the fire. This year – 1666 – was full or porent of doom and the unrighteous would soon suffer hell fire. That is what people said.

Eventually the truth came out. It was not the judgement of heaven or the evil act of malicious enemies. No it was merely a baker forgetting to put out his ovens. Thomas Farriner was to blame. Not that he ever admitted to this himself of course.

But we should not blame Farriner. Really it was the case that the city of London  in 1666 was ready for this disaster. Most houses in this crowded and congested city were wood and thatch leaning precariously towards each other. The city contained hundreds of workplaces, many of which were fire hazards foundries, smithies, glaziers and was full of warehouses which had stores and cellars of combustibles. That summer of 1666 had been one of the hottest in living memory making the buildings dry as tinder. Finally there was a strong wind blowing north westerly  for the first three days fanning on the fire.

Here then is an outline of the key stages in the fire:

Day 1: Sunday 2^nd September circa 1am Fire starts at the Bakers on Pudding Lane. 4am Lord Mayor Bludworth visits but down plays it and goes back to bed! Later that day he fails to act decisively. Samuel Pepys goes to see king and gets royal orders back to Mayor so he starts to pull down houses BUT it is already too late. The fire is spreading fast and Londoners start to flee. Getting his priorities right, Pepys buried a big cheese and wine in his garden!

Day 2: Monday 3^rd September The fire spread throughout the 3rd, despite the efforts of the Duke of York  who was given command of fire-fighting that morning and began to bring better organisation to the fight. The only success came at Leadenhall in the north-east, were a combination of low wind and the leadership and wealth of one citizen which enabled him to hire sufficient labour to create a working firebreak  stopped the blaze advancing. Paranoia  over suspected plots meant that people start attacking foreigners in the street. James is forced to spend a lot of time saving foreigners from attacks by the London mob.

Day 3: Tuesday 4th September By sunrise September 4th, the fire was at its peak, an estimated ten times as strong as twenty-four hours previously. The success at Leadenhall was repeated on the 4th by other teams – one led by Samuel Pepys  who now used gunpowder to clear great gaps in the city and build fire breaks In the east, the fire was stopped before reaching The Tower of London. However, in the north the flames remained unchecked, surging with avarice across Cheapside and the city market, and in the west they jumped across the River Fleet in spite of attempts to clear the bridge and nearby buildings.

People ran and pushed goods and belongings INTO ST Pauls or up against the walls hoping it would protect them. It did not! By the midnight of the 4th/5th September, St. Paul’s Cathedral was surrounded and literally melting: the lead roofing flowed down the streets and building stones exploded from the heat.

Day 4: Wednesday 5th September Day 5: Thursday 6^th September

On the 5th two events conspired to save London: firefighters started to actively, use gunpowder to clear firebreaks on a wider scale. More crucially, the powerful east wind dropped. There was still a great struggle Pepys reports than even the King was seen helping  but the tide had turned. Small fires still burnt by midday on Thursday 6th 1666, but they were soon under control.

The Aftermath

There was something of a witch hunt during and after the fire looking for the culprits and the London mob chased down any foreigners or just someone who looked a bit odd. A mentally ill Frenchman admitted to causing the fire and although it was shown that he could not have done so he was still hung. In the end calm prevailed and it was realised by those in government that it had just been an accident made worse by the condition of the city.

Rebuilding

The destruction was vast.

It is estimated that the destruction included 13200 houses, 87 churches, 44 Guild Halls, St Pauls Cathedral, Baynards Castle, the Royal Exchange, Newgate prison and many other important sites. Maybe 1 person in 3 or 4 of greater London was made homeless. Something like £14 Billion of damages in today’s terms was caused.

For some this was an opportunity. Unscrupulous bankers made a fortune giving loans at huge rate sof interest to assist rebuilding. Landlords discovered that they would insist on the properties they had rented out being rebuilt at the tenants cost and usually ended up with buildings of greater value. A massive legal process ensued with court cases going on for years.

Others had higher aims. John Evelyn and Christopher Wren both submitted plans for rebuilding the city. The warren of streets would be swept away and broad avenues and squares echoing the glories of Italian cities brought in. In the end though landlords insisted on their houses being rebuilt and the best that Wren achieved was the contract to design and rebuild London’s churches including the magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral.

Last Week: 1660 to 1665

This article is one of a series connected with the release in August 2011 of the new paperback of The Last Seal my historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666. The book is also available on Kindle

The Return of the King

General Monck acts:

After Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 his son, Richard tried to govern as Lord Protector but he possessed none of the force of will of his father nor his support in the army and he was deposed. The Rump parliament tried to rule but itself was dismissed by one of Cromwell’s officers, Lambert. Lambert tried to impose a military rule but his days in power were limited.

General Monck, Cromwell’s trusted lieutenant in Scotland marched south in late 1659 with his army aiming to restore order and parliament. Lambert went out to meet him but his army deserted him and the Rump Parliament was restored.

Monck arrived in London in February 1660 and finding the Rump Parliament obstructive set about recalling the Long Parliament (the last full parliament originally summoned by Charles I many years before.) Lambert was sent to the Tower, escaped and tried to cause a republican uprising by summoning supporters to Edgehill but he was captured and this time did not escape. The Long Parliament, under Monck’s guidance passed legislation designed to summon a Convention Parliament, whose role was to decide about the future of the nation, and then dissolved itself.

Monck, on behalf of the Convention Parliament began putting out feelers to Charles II, exploring the possibility of a restoration but  seeking reassurances over reprisals. Charles, taking a pragmatic approach issued the Declaration of Breda in March 1660. This laid out conditions for his return which promised there would be NO reprisals against individuals for fighting against his father, nor against parliament with one exception. Anyone who had signed the execution order for Charles I was to be put to death themselves.

Party time in London: Charles returns!

The Convention parliament passed an act which stated that Charles II had been king since his father’s execution in 1649 – in effect wiping the years of the Commonwealth away. Charles arrived in London on May 29th 1660 and entered the city under scenes of ecstatic excitement as if the country had been holding its breath during the dreary years of puritan goverment and now, all that drabness swept away, they let it all out in one huge celebration.

Regicides

Of the 59 judges who had signed Charles I’s death warrant, 31 still lived. 8 of these along with three captains who had commanded the guards at the execution and the prosecuting lawyer were all executed at Tyburn by the grizzly method of hanging, drawing and quartering. Cromwell and two other senior republicans were exhumated and their corpses hung. Cromwell’s head was then mounted on a spike on Westminster Hall.

Early Reign 1661 to 1664

In the early years, Charles appointed as chancellor Edward Hyde. At the same time, Anne Hyde, Hyde’s daughter, revealed that she was pregnant by Charles’s brother, James, whom she had secretly married. Edward Hyde, was created Earl of Clarendon and his position as Charles’s favourite minister was strengthened.

Charles’s coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661. Shortly after the coronation, the ‘Cavalier Parliament’ was summoned and was, not surprisingly , it was overwhelmingly Royalist and Anglican.

The Cavalier Parliaments main aim was to discourage non-conformity to the Church of England, and so it passed several acts to secure this. Municipal office holders in the city were obliged to swear alliegance to the established church  in The Corporation Act 1661. The Act of Uniformity 1662 made the use of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer compulsory. The Conventicle Act 1664 prohibited religious assemblies of more than five people, except under the auspices of the Church of England – in effect preventing ANY Catholic gatherings. The Five Mile Act 1665 prohibited clergymen from being inside five miles of a parish from which they had been banished. Much of these acts were known collectively as the Clarendon Code although Clarendon had little to do with them.

The Restoration lead to many changes in society. Puritanism – so dominant in the Commonwealth and the 40’s lost its momentum. Theatres were once again opened and bawdy “Restoration comedy” became popular.

Alliance with Portugal 1661  and War with Holland starts again 1665

Soon after Charles’s restoration, Queen Lu­sa of Portugal, agreed an alliance with England which lead in May 1662 to Charles marrying Catherine of Braganza in Portsmouth. Under the alliance the territories of Tangier and Bombay were transferred to British control which would in the case of Bombay have a large effect on the development of the British Empire in India.

Charles also sold Dunkirk – England’s last enclave in France because it was too costly to maintain.

The Second Dutch War was started as a result of England trying to take control of Dutch colonies. The first year or two of the war went well for the English, with the capture of New Amsterdam (renamed New York ) and a victory at the Battle of Lowestoft. 

The Great Plague 1665

London – and indeed all of Europe were familiar with intermittent plagues throughout history with the 14th Century Black Death killing for around 1 in 3 in England. Plagues in the 17th century were not as dramatic as that but the Great Plague of 1665 would kill 100,000 Londoners (and thousands more around the country) and was the last large scale plague in England.

In April 1665 the first case of bubonic plague occurred – thought to be carried in Dutch ships (before the war started). Soon it began to spread with numbers increasing rapidly. By September 1665 7000 people a week were dying and the city was digging great pits to bury the dead in.  Those that were able to fled – the Kind going to Salisbury and later Oxford where Parliament also removed itself to. Finally as Autumn turned to winter the death rate slowed and the King and parliament felt safe to return to London early in 1666. Although on a much smaller scale the plague was still going on in the summer of 1666 when something dramatic and terrifying occurred – something which would wipe out the plague once and for all but at a terrible cost.

Next week: By Permission of Heaven – the Great Fire of London

Last Week: 1650 to 1659

This article is one of a series connected with the release in August of the new paperback of The Last Seal my historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666. The book is also available on Kindle

Above: Samuel Pepys gives us many insights into what folk ate and drank in the 1660’s.

If you were living in London around the time of the Great Fire on 1666 WHAT would you be eating and drinking? Today in the blog I look at this subject.

Firstly the city of London – and elsewhere – would contain a number of Chop Houses. Chop houses were places where city folk, traders and businessmen discussed their commercial affairs over plates of traditionally cooked meats such as steaks and chops, which were usually grilled. These were consumed  with beers or fine wines.

The 17th century is when the forks began to be used in Britain. They were introduced from Italy and were seen as unmanly at the start but gradually became accepted over the next century.

This was also the century when many new foods were introduced into England. By and large these were only for the wealthy. These new foods included fruits from exotic locations in the new world such as bananas and pineapples.

This period also saw the introduction of chocolate (as a drink) coffee and tea. In particular it was the arrival of coffee that brought with it a new phenomenon – the coffee house. The first coffee house in Britain was opened in 1652 in Oxford and the first in London the same year in Cornhill. They spread rapidly and by the end of the century over 3000 would exist around the country. By the time of the fire there were many in London. They became places just like today to meet friends, exchange news and gossip – to the extent that Charles II actually tried, and failed, to close them as they were seen as hotbeds of sedition and criticism.

For the majority of the population food was basic and boring like bread, cheese and onions. Pottage was an almost daily part of the diet. This was a stew that was prepared by boiling grain in water to make a kind of porridge. If you could obtain it you might add some meat or vegetables.

For the better off  pies, pastries and puddings were popular – in many cases richer than what we would eat today. Due to the fact that Prince Charles I had a French wife more elaborate dishes with strong sauces were introduced and were called kickshaws, after ‘quelquechose’, the French word for ‘something’. Charles II married a Portuguese princess and so the fashion for European food remained strong in his reign. So we see the use of anchovies, capers and wine, roux, ragouts and fricassés. Salads using raw uncooked vegetables started to be eaten as well in this time.

It is interesting that when Samuel Pepys saw the fire approaching in 1666 the items he choise to bury and save was a large parmesan cheese and his wine – showing what he valued.

A Samuel Pepys Feast

Taken from a superb source on food at this time “Pepys at Table” here we have a typical festive feast:

Soup from Ox tongue spiced with nutmeg
Sliced leg of lamb with artichoke heart, kidneys and topped with rasperies and redcurrant.
Herring pie
Scambeled eggs, anchovies and nuts
Stewed prawns.
Minced Pies (with meat in as well as fruit and spices).

Chesecake   or Syllabub to finish.

Washed down with spiced wine.

So some foods are familiar today. Many have changed and in particular combinations of foods and spices are maybe a bit outlandish to today’s palate. Indeed often folk ate food at breakfast (such at lamb chops and kidneys) less common in this modern age. Nevertheless it is obvious that the better off ate and drank well as can be seen in this entry by Samuel Pepys in 1661:

“I went with Capt. Morrice at his desire into the King’s Privy Kitchin to Mr Sayres the Master-Cooke, and there we had a good slice of beef or two to our breakfast. And from thence he took us into the wine-cellar; where by my troth we were very merry, and I drank too much wine.”

This is a series of articles written to celebrate the release of the new paperback of The Last Seal – a historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666.

Check out the book’s Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/TheLastSeal

Read part of the book here: http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/thelastseal.html

The Liberati are a secret society which in ancient times served the demons who ruled this earth and through them exerted power over mankind. Though defeated in the wars in which mankind liberated themselves, through the ages they have strived to free the demons and through them rule our world. In The Last Seal, the Liberati aim to free the Demon Dantalion and unleash terror on London in the 17th Century. They are lead by the Cavalier Artemis

The Praesidium order were the original instigators of mankind’s triumph over the demons. Throughout history they have acted to keep the demons away from our world and have opposed the Liberati’s attempts at each stage. Three Hundred years ago the Liberati warlock Steven Blake freed the demon Dantalion but ther Praesidium were there to stop them. Their leader Cornelius Silver Imprisoned Dantalion beneath London.

Now, in the year 1666, the Liberati are back and aim to free the demon. A year ago the Praesidium were all but destroyed. Can the surviving member, Gabriel,  manage to defeat their plans?

What happens in the end? To find out read The Last Seal.

Check out the book’s Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/TheLastSeal

Read part of the book here: http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/thelastseal.html

The 17th century is the age of Newton and Harvey and other scientists that discovered many of the scientific truths we know today. YET it was still a time where people believed in magic, witchcraft and omens. It could be a paranoid time. Today I look at some of those beliefs.

Witchcraft and Magic

Put simply in this time period, despite the growth of science people believed in Magic and in witchcraft. It  was during the reign of Elizabeth I that campaigns to catch and try witches began – around 1563 and these were developed during the reign of James I. The estimate of the number of persons hanged as witches in England  in the  century or so of active trials was about 1,000. The first person hanged for witchcraft was Agnes Waterhouse at Chelmsford in 1566, the last was Alice Molland at Exeter in 1684.

If you were a women who was old, ugly, had warts you were at possible risk of accusation. If you fell out with a neighbour they might just call you a witch. Then the search would begin for “evidence” such a calf being still born in the area or milk turning sour.

Prince Rupert’s demon poodle

As an example of how much credence people might sometimes give to tales of magic and demons, in the civil war the Parliamentarians spread a rumour that Boy – Prince Rupert’s dog (prince Rupert was nephew to King Charles I) – was a demon in disguise. Pamphlets circulated claiming that he had the power to predict the future, find treasure, alter his shape and was invulnerable to bullets. Alas if he did have this power, it failed him at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644, because Boy died at that battle.

Omens

The mid 17th century was a time of great superstition and people attributed significance to omens that they saw about them. There were Solar eclipses in the southern hemisphere in 1666. Comets had been seen in the skies in 1664. There was also lunar eclipses. People it seemed were willing to believe that any apparently natural occurrence had deeper meaning. For example it was widely reported that a hen’s egg had been laid in Poland with the mark of the cross on it.

All of these – and many other occurrences were widely reported and believed by many to imply that some great catastrophe was looming.

Astrology

There was even a prediction made by  William Lilly, the best known astrologer of his day who predicted the plague of 1665 and the  Great Fire of London (1666) in 1652. Of course the year 1666 would be likely to attract such predictions due to its signifiacnce (see below) and there were many predictions that DID NOT come true that are not reported but many people suggested after the fire that his (and other) predictions were to blame.

The End of the World

‘And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.’  Revelations 13:17–18

Every few years people predict that the world will end. Many people believed that 1666 was the end of the world!! In the Book of Revelations there is this passage that says that the number of the beast – of the devil is 666.  In 1666 many people thought they were living in the year the world would end (because of that 666 bit.)

So then this is the world at the time of the Great Fire.

This article is one of a series connected with the release in August of the new paperback of The Last Seal my historical fantasy set during the Great Fire of 1666.

Check out the book’s Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/TheLastSeal

Read part of the book here: http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/thelastseal.html