The Great Fire of London - 1666

The Great Fire of London poem for kids, by Paul Perro

The year was 1666
It was a Sunday night.
In a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane
There glowed an orange light.

The oven was on fire
And the flames began to spread.
The baker and his family
Were asleep upstairs in bed.

When the walls caught fire
There billowed out black smoke.
With the smell and all the noise
Thomas the baker awoke.

He woke up all his family
And got them out of there.
Then he called for the firemen
And he called for the mayor.

The firemen looked at the houses nearby,
And said “We must knock these down
Or else they will catch fire too
And it will spread throughout the town.”

But the Mayor didn’t want to do that,
He said “Just hang about,
The fire’s not that bad,
Wee could put that out!”

They tried to put the flames out
But they just grew higher and higher.
Sure enough they spread and soon
Half of London was on fire.

King Charles in his palace
Thought something must be done
He sent out a fire engine
With a great big water gun.

They needed to fill it with water
So took it to the river bank.
But it was slippery there
And it fell in the river and sank!

When the king heard about this
He was quite upset.
He realised that the fire posed
A very serious threat.

He decided he must help,
So put on his boots and cloak
And marched out of his palace
Towards the fire and smoke.

He helped the fire-fighters
Who were starting to despair.
And everyone was really pleased
That their king was there.

Eventually, the wind died down
And the fire died down too.
Then the people of London
Had to build their homes anew.

The damage caused would have been less
In sixteen sixty six
If the houses were not made from wood,
If they were made from bricks.

It was indeed the mayor whom many blame for the spread of the great fire of London, as he refused to demolish nearby houses. When he first saw the fire he is reported to have said that a lady could urinate on it and put it out (this has become “Wee could put that out” in the poem.”) It is also true that several fire engines fell into the Thames while they were being filled with water, and that the king helped fight the fire.

If you would like more information about the Great Fire, please see www.fireoflondon.org.uk

Back to the British History from the Great Fire of London