GCSE History
Samuel Pepys recorded both: the red crosses on the doors of plague houses in 1665, and the glow of the burning city that woke him from sleep in 1666. The Great Plague killed roughly a quarter of London's population. The Great Fire destroyed 80% of the medieval city. What followed was a rebuilding programme that gave England Christopher Wren, 52 new churches, and the dome of St Paul's.