An image of the Great fire which started at Surrey Docks in 1861. The Docks opened in 1807, and as the Empire grew, this part of Southwark saw a huge expansion in trade and commerce coming into London from all corners of the globe. There was building expansion too, with scores of warehouses springing up in the area, bursting with imports and exports of every description. It was in one of these buildings, Scovell’s warehouse at Cotton’s Wharf, that a fire broke out in a consignment of jute. It quickly spread throughout the vulnerable district and before long the whole of the Tooley Street area was ablaze. The fire took two days to bring under control and was not fully extinguished for a further 2 weeks. It was the greatest fire since the Great Fire of London. The disaster caused the insurance companies,to raise premiums substantially, and led to the creation of the London Fire Brigade by the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1865.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:52:12 +0000
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