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The Most Devastating Fires in the United Kingdom

Discovery of fire by early man contributed to cultural advances allowed human geographic dispersal, cultural innovations, and changes to diet and behavior. The same fire has caused the downfall of great nations and caused unimaginable losses when recklessly used.

The United Kingdom over the years has fallen victim to catastrophic fire outbreaks that shaped how England is today as a nation and some of the different policies that govern the country. Below are the most devastating fires in the United Kingdom;

1. 1212 Great Fire of London

1212 Great Fire of London – Historic UK

1212 Great Fire of London, also known as the Great Fire of Suthwark, began on 10 July 1212 in Southwark, the borough directly to the south of London Bridge. High winds carried red-hot embers across the river and ignited buildings on the north side of the bridge.

As London Bridge had only just been rebuilt in stone, and the structure itself survived the blaze but was ruined as the bridge was partially usable, for years afterwards. However, numerous casualties were incurred when a mass of citizens from London rushed onto the bridge at the first signs of fire, intending to cross the river to help extinguish the flames.

2. Albion Colliery Disaster

Albion Colliery Disaster – BBC

Albion Colliery was a coal mine in South Wales Valleys, located in the village of Cilfynydd, one mile north of Pontypridd. It was the scene of one of the worst disasters ever to occur in the South Wales Coalfield.

At 4 o’clock on Saturday 23 June 1894, the night shift had just begun when a massive explosion on the Groves level occurred. It was caused by the ignition of coal dust following an explosion of firedamp.

The incident resulted in the deaths of 290 men and boys. There were no female victims, as it had been made illegal for women and children under the age of 12 to work underground in the mines.

3. The Great Fire of 1666

The Great Fire of London,1666 – Wikipedia

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London from Sunday, 2 September to Thursday, 6 September 1666. The fire started in a bakery shortly after midnight on Sunday, 2 September, and spread rapidly.

Due to the strong winds and indecisiveness of the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Bloodworth to create firebreaks by means of demolition, the fire was able to spread rapidly. The fire destroyed approximately 15 percent of the city’s housing.

The battle to put out the fire is considered to have been won by two key factors: the strong east wind dropped, and the Tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create effective firebreaks, halting further spread eastward.

4. Summerland Fire Disaster

Summerland aftermath – WIkipedia

Summerland was a climate-controlled building covering 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) on Douglas’s waterfront, consisting of 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) of floor area. The disaster occurred when a fire spread through the Summerland leisure centre in Douglas on the Isle of Man on the night of 2 August 1973.

The fire was caused by three boys who were smoking in a small disused kiosk and carelessly discarded a match or stub. Approximately 3,000 people were inside the centre when it started to burn. Between 50 and 53 people died in the fire and around eighty people were seriously injured and the center was seriously damaged.

The centre reopened in June 1978.

5. 29, 1940: The Blitz

A House Collapsing on Two Firemen, Shoe Lane, London – Wikipedia

The Second Great Fire of London in December 1940 was caused by one of the most destructive air raids of the Blitz during World War II. Fires started by the raid included an incendiary bomb that broke through the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, which was being guarded by a fire watch team at the behest of the Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The Luftwaffe raid caused fires over an area greater than that of the Great Fire of London in 1666, leading one American correspondent to say in a cable to his office that “The second Great Fire of London has begun”.

6. Theatre Royal Fire

Theatre Royal fire memorial – Wikipedia

The Theatre Royal is best remembered for being the worst theatre fire in British history. On 5 September 1887, during a dramatisation of Romany Rye (a melodrama by Wilson Barrett), a fire broke out backstage where gas lighting ignited some gauze.

The number of exits from the gallery of the auditorium proved to be inadequate and in the resultant panic amongst the audience 186 people died. There is a memorial to those who died in the fire in Higher Cemetery, Heavitree, made by local sculptor Harry Hems.

7. Clifton Hall Colliery Disaster

Clifton Hall Colliery disaster memorial – Wikipedia

Clifton Hall Colliery was one of two coal mines in Clifton and was notorious for an explosion on Thursday 18^th 1885 which killed around 178 men and boys. During the explosion the ground shook for half a mile around, guardrails on two sides of the pit mouth were blown away, and the cages were rendered useless.

The explosion must have originated at the extremity of number 2 East level, and it is thought that around 200 men were underground at the time. The scene at the bottom was horrendous with dead bodies, men badly burned and men suffering the effects of “afterdamp” (carbon monoxide poisoning).

Production of coal ended 9 November 1929, but a shaft was retained for ventilation at Wheatsheaf Colliery in Pendlebury.

8. Burwell Barn Fire

Burwell Barn Fire memorial – Wikimedia Commons

At about 9 o’clock on the evening of September 8th 1727, fire broke out in a barn, in which a great number of persons were met together to see a puppet show. The fire was occasioned by the negligence of a servant who set a candle and lanthorne in or near a heap of straw which lay in the barn.

The fire killed seventy-six people immediately as the small door on the barn was so narrow and everybody so impatient to escape that the door was presently blocked up, and most of those that did escape, which was but very few, were forced to crawl over the bodies of those that lay in a heap by the door. Two people died of the words they incurred.

9. Piper Alpha

Piper Alpha memorial – Wikipedia

Piper Alpha was an oil platform located in the North Sea, approximately 120 miles (190 km) north-east of Aberdeen, Scotland. It exploded and sank on the 6th of July 1988 with the first explosion occurring due to condensate leak from the PSV flange.

The explosion of Piper Alpha killed 165 of the men on board and a further 2 rescue workers after their rescue vessel, which had been trapped in debris and immobilized, was destroyed by the disintegrating rig. Thirty bodies were never recovered. The total insured loss was about £1.7 billion, making it one of the costliest man-made catastrophes ever.

In Aberdeen, the Kirk of St Nicholas on Union Street has dedicated a chapel in memory of those who died, containing a Book of Remembrance listing them. There is a memorial sculpture in the Rose Garden of Hazlehead Park.

10. Felling Mine Disaster

The miners’ safety lamp – Wikipedia

The Felling Colliery, also known as Brandling Main, in Britain, suffered four disasters in the 19th century, in 1812, 1813, 1821 and 1847. By far the worst of the four was the 1812 disaster, which claimed 91 lives on 25 May 1812.

At 11:30 on Monday, 25 May 1812 the first explosion occurred. For half a mile around, the earth shook, and the noise was heard up to four miles away. The cause of the first explosion is not known for certain, with the most probable cause being firedamp.

The loss of life in the 1812 disaster was one of the motivators for the development of the miners’ safety lamp.