Property Historyhistorylondonlawarchitecture
How the Great Fire Banned Timber Houses
Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, the Rebuilding of London Act 1667 explicitly banned timber-framed houses to prevent future disasters.
The Great Fire of London devastated the city primarily because the streets were narrow and the overhanging houses were built almost entirely of highly flammable timber covered in pitch.
To ensure the disaster never happened again, the Rebuilding of London Act 1667 was passed. It strictly mandated that all new houses in the city must be constructed using brick or stone. It also widened the streets and standardized housing designs into four distinct classes based on the width of the street. This single piece of legislation fundamentally transformed the architectural aesthetic of London forever.