Tag Archives: Great

21Mar/15

The Great Fire

London Stories, , , , , ,

I’m sure you know more about the Great Fire of London in 1666 than I do. It’s as much folk lore as it is fact, so I thought I’d have a look at the fire from street level.

This fellow (below) the Golden Boy of Pye Corner, is a quirky sign of how the fire was viewed in its day. Because the fire started in Pudding Lane, and ended at Pye Corner, some blamed it on gluttony and the fire was therefore seen as a message from God himself that Londoners should mend their ways and not be so greedy. This chubby little statue in Giltspur St, leading to Smithfield Garden, is a reminder of that message.

King Charles II himself is credited with rallying the population and organising the defence of London against the flames; because he was one of the few men in London with enough influence to affect a result, and he was the one who acted.

The Golden Boy of Pyes Corner

The Golden Boy of Pyes Corner

It is possible that the fire more or less killed off the Plague. Probably this was caused by the flames destroying the infrastructure that the fleas which spread the Plague lived in – straw, debris, rats and the food the rats lived on.

This picture is in St Brides Fleet St. It clearly shows how St Pauls dominated London in the early 17th Century. St Pauls was completely destroyed as the lead from its roof ran molten in the streets. You can also see the distinctive spire of St Mary le Bow as it was before the fire.

Drawing of London found in St Bride’s, Fleet St

Drawing of London found in St Bride’s, Fleet St

The Samuel Pepys Exhibition building, below, in Fleet St, opposite Chancery Lane, marks the westernmost extent of the fire. Everything to the left was destroyed; this lovely building remains. They say no-one was killed, because the flames moved quite slowly, but it’s likely that peasants, serfs and villeins didn’t count. If you stand in the middle of the road in front of this building (not for long!) you can see St Pauls on Ludgate Hill to the east. It’s not very far from there to here, so you can see that 17th Century London was not a very big place, but you can also see from the cramped buildings, tiny lanes and narrow footpaths that it was a very compact city, dominated by foot traffic. Immediately after the fire, thatched houses were prohibited. The Globe Theatre in Bankside, built in the 1990s, was the first new thatched building in London since 1666.

Samuel Pepys Exhibition building, Fleet St

Samuel Pepys Exhibition building, Fleet St

20Mar/15

WW1 Canadian Soldiers

Canada, War Stories WW1, , , , , , , , ,

Annotated Canada, Soldiers of the First World War

Compiled by Ewart Tearle, May 2010

Annotated by Ewart Tearle, May 2010

Name: Edward Tearle

  • Birth Date: 16 Oct 1890
  • Birth Location: Preston, Lancs, England
  • Relative: Mabel Tearle
  • Relationship: Wife
  • Regiment Number: 50683

Edward 1890, son of Edward 1868 and Emily nee Morris. Grandson of Joseph T and Sophia nee Kibble and g-grandson Joseph 1803 and Mary Ann nee Smith. Married Mabel E Reid in Wiltshire, 1912.

Name: John Blake

  • Birth Date: 12 Oct 1876
  • Birth Location: Crayden Surrey England
  • Relative: Mrs W Tearle
  • Relationship: Sister
  • Regiment Number: 30183

I still do not know who this is. His birth location is obviously Croydon, but is his sister married to a Tearle, or is she still unmarried?  See “Canada, Soldiers of the Great War”, the regimental number is 30185 and there are two records both with the word “Duplicate”: one has Chas Blake, father as relative, and this is crossed out in the second record and has Mrs W Tearle, his sister, as relative, and a regimental number of 30185. Chas Blake is correct as John’s father; his address on the attestation form is 99 Stanley Rd, West Croydon, and in the 1901 census his address is recorded as 99 Stanley Rd, Croydon. The regimental number above is incorrect; on both forms the number is 30185. He has the comment “Tattoo marks cover both arms” on page two of both forms. I can find no trace of W Tearle nee Blake. I am not absolutely certain the initial is actually W, and there are no Blake girls whose name starts with W in any of the censuses. Also, peculiarly, John Blake’s birth was registered in Oct 1875, but he insists on the above date of 1876.