The Great Fire of London

It's 1st September 1666, and you're on London Bridge just before the Great Fire of London. Fire is not uncommon here; many of the houses are made of old, dry timber and plaster, sealed with pitch. It's also overcrowded. On the north bank of the river you can see warehouses that are filled with many flammable materials, such as oil and brandy. There are prophecies about the city being destroyed by fire, and there's been a drought for ten months. It's hit midnight, so why don't you have a good look at the neighbourhood – it'll be gone by morning!

This is Pudding Lane, which got its name from the old word for the entrails brought down from the butchers of Eastcheap. Thomas Farrier was a baker who, as well as bread, made ships' biscuits to feed the Navy, who are fighting the Dutch. You hear a cry of "fire!" and see Thomas Farrier climbing onto the roof. His family escapes with their manservant, but their maid is the first to die in the fire. The houses on either side begin to catch, and you hear bells ringing to raise the alarm.

It's 9 o'clock now, and over 300 houses are gone. People begged the Lord Mayor to pull down houses to create a firebreak, but he refused. Those warehouses you saw earlier are also alight. You pass bucket chains and a rudimentary water pump called a squirt trying to put out the fire, while a group of men start to pull buildings down to create firebreaks, but it's too little too late. They've brought out their version of a fire engine too, but it's not very manoeuvrable, and falls into the Thames when they try to fill it too quickly. Even the waterwheels used to pump water are burning, cutting off the water supply for a large part of the city. Better get away from the wharves for now!

This is Cannon Street on 3rd September. The streets are packed with people trying to escape the fire, and porters and cart drivers are charging a premium, or outright stealing items they've been paid to move. Every boat for miles around is laden with people's possessions. Better get out of the crowds before things turn nasty.

England is at war with the Dutch – and much of the rest of Europe – so people believe foreigners have been sent to act as terrorists. Mobs hunt anyone who seems different and have killed several people, often brutally. You see a group attack a Swedish nobleman from the embassy, but he's rescued by the Duke of York's men. Why don't you follow them for a while?

King Charles II has only been on the throne for a few years after his father was executed, so he's keen to prove his worth. He's arranged for his brother, the Duke of York, to organise troops to stop the fire. They pull down more houses and try to hem the fire in, but it's reached St Paul's Cathedral now. Many people were storing possessions there, thinking it would be safe, but the roof is held up by wooden scaffolding and now it's filled with furniture and fabric. The roof catches fire, and molten lead begins to flow down the street. People are worried that it could reach the Tower of London, which is full of 500 tons of gunpowder, enough to take out the rest of the city and much of the surrounding area. The Duke of York's men have put some of the gunpowder to use in destroying streets to stop the fire. The wind is also falling!

You're at the Tower of London on 5th September, and the fire is dying. The firebreaks worked, but it was a close thing. As many as 13,200 houses burned down, and many landmarks were lost, but only six people died in the blaze. Now they have to figure out what to do for the 80,000 people left homeless. The old medieval city is gone, but a better one will be built. A memorial monument will be built right where you started this journey, and if you visit St Paul's today, there's a carved phoenix rising from the ashes on the south side.