This talk outlines work currently being undertaken on the built environment of London in 1666, on the eve of the Great Fire. A team of researchers is consulting a wide range of historical and archaeological source material to understand the physical environment of the metropolis, which at this time extended from Westminster to Wapping, Shoreditch to Southwark. Paying particular attention to the research process currently underway this talk will look at the research work behind-the-scenes which is going into the making of the Historic Town’s Trust’s most ambitious project yet. This includes the creation of mapped features from historic maps and archaeological reports as well as a gazetteer of almost 4,000 placenames of streets, substantial buildings and other features known to have existed in 1666.

Joe Saunders

Joe is a freelance historical researcher with a particular interest in seventeenth-century England. He is currently working as a research assistant on the Historic Towns Trust’s London on the Eve of the Great Fire project. Joe is undertaking a PhD at the University of York and is a Trustee of BALH.