FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Great Fire of London Trivia Quiz

I was born in London and have been raised to love and appreciate its history and beauty. The Great Fire changed the city for ever, and because of this I thought it would be interesting to do a quiz about it!

A multiple-choice quiz by booboo11. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
booboo11

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
248,828

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
2857

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 90 (9/10), Guest 86 (0/10), Lord_Digby (8/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who kept a famous diary of events in London from 1660 to 1669? Hint

Samuel Pepys

Adrian Mole

Bridget Jones

Queen Victoria

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Whereabouts in London did the Great Fire of London start? Hint

Buckingham Palace

Drury Lane

Oxford Circus

Pudding Lane

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. What is believed to have been an important, unintended benefit of the fire? Hint

It killed off lots of stray cats and dogs

It stopped the City smelling

It killed off the rats that carried the plague-bearing fleas

Lots of homeless people were killed off

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. How do we know so much about the fire? Hint

Because we are nosey

Church records

Thomas Farynor wrote about it

Because of Samuel Pepys' diary

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. How long did the fire take to burn out. Hint

1 month

1 day

4 days

6 weeks

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Who was Lord Mayor of London at the time of the fire? Hint

Dick Whittington

Thomas Bludworth

Ken Livingstone

Samuel Pepys

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Why did it take so long for the fire to be put out? Hint

Because there was no fire brigade

Everyone was killed so there was no-one to do it

Because there was no water

Nobody cared

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. How much of the city was destroyed? Hint

100%

80%

50%

30%

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. How many people were involved with the re-designing of the City of London? Hint

123

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. How many churches did Christopher Wren design for the rebuilt city? Hint

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Most Recent Scores

Nov 06 2024 : Guest 90: 9/10
Nov 03 2024 : Guest 86: 0/10
Oct 28 2024 : Lord_Digby: 8/10
Sep 30 2024 : NumanKiwi: 7/10
Sep 23 2024 : Figgin: 8/10
Sep 20 2024 : Guest 120: 7/10
Sep 09 2024 : Guest 66: 0/10
Sep 09 2024 : Guest 98: 1/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who kept a famous diary of events in London from 1660 to 1669?

Answer: Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys was born in London in in 1633. His father was a tailor and his mother was the sister of a butcher in Whitechapel.

2. Whereabouts in London did the Great Fire of London start?

Answer: Pudding Lane

The fire started on 2nd September 1666 in Thomas Farynor's baker's shop. The Monument is very close to the site.

3. What is believed to have been an important, unintended benefit of the fire?

Answer: It killed off the rats that carried the plague-bearing fleas

It is thought that the fire actually saved lives because of this, as there was only six deaths at most from the Great Fire. (Records differ). However, after the fire the deaths from the plague fell sharply.

4. How do we know so much about the fire?

Answer: Because of Samuel Pepys' diary

Samuel Pepys lived on the other side of the Thames and documented what he saw.

5. How long did the fire take to burn out.

Answer: 4 days

It finally burned out at Temple Church, near the present site of Holborn Bridge.

6. Who was Lord Mayor of London at the time of the fire?

Answer: Thomas Bludworth

Although Bludworth was Lord Mayor at the time, he had little or no hand in dealing with the fire as nearly every decision he made was overruled by King Charles II.

7. Why did it take so long for the fire to be put out?

Answer: Because there was no fire brigade

There had been laws set into place where each district of the city should have buckets and ladders ready for use in case of fire, but due to disuse most of the ladders were rotten and the buckets had been mislaid. Also strong winds made the fire spread far quicker than had been thought possible.

8. How much of the city was destroyed?

Answer: 80%

This included 13,000 houses and 89 churches. The area to the north-east of the modern Bank of England was largely spared.

9. How many people were involved with the re-designing of the City of London?

Answer: 6

There were 6 commissioners appointed. They were: Christopher Wren (he was not knighted till after the city was rebuilt), Robert Hook, Hugh May, Robert Pratt, Edward Jerman and Peter Mills.

10. How many churches did Christopher Wren design for the rebuilt city?

Answer: 51

Christopher Wren designed an amazing 51 churches for the new city including of course the new St Paul's Cathedral (my personal favourite place in London). Unfortunately, after the blitz in World War II only 24 of these were left standing.

Source: Author booboo11

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.