A Faithful Account Of the Late DREADFUL FIRE in SOUTHWARK.  
Begun on Friday the 26th. of May, 1676. At three of the Clock in the morning, and in the space of twenty hours destroyed near Five Hundred Houses, several People, and Goods, to an inestimable Value.  
The Names of the most Considerable Places, are as followeth.  



Shattered and Defaced.  
St. Marry Overy's Church  
St. Thomas Hospital    


Burnt and Demolished.  
From Chain-Gate in the Burrow, to the Counter on St. Margarets-Hill, on both sides of the way  
The Market-house  
Angel-Court  
Three-Crown-Court  
Fow'l-Lane  
Counter-Lane  
Backside of the Counter  
Part of St. Thomas, etc.     

Licenced,  
May 29. 1676. Roger L'Estrange.   
Printed for Thomas Pierce.   

A Faithful Account of the late Dreadful Fire in Southwark, etc.  
SOuthwark was lately known to be a spacious Burrough, and a place of a great trade, full of Houses and Inhabitants, and those for the most part wealthy, which I recite to make the Reader the more apprehensive of the great Desolation made there by the late Dreadful Fire, and of the Damage many of the now really poor Inhabitants have sustained thereby.  
It began on Friday the 26. of this instant May, about three of the Clock in the Morning at an Oyl-shop over-against the Counter, upon St. Margarets-hill; which is as it were the very heart of the Burrow, the Wind Southerly, and blowing very fresh, so that it burned not very considerably to Wind-ward, but burned its chief fury down the Street towards the Bridge, and notwithstanding a present alarm given, and a great concourse of people, with an imaginable expedition in bringing of Engines, in very little time it got a considerable head on both sides of the way, insomuch that the Engines being overpowered and able to do but little good, they were forced to betake themselves to blowing up of Houses, which they did for some time with pretty good success, but as the morning came on, such an innumerable company of Spectators were flocked together, that instead of assistance, they proved a very great hindrance to the Engineers, who durst not blow up the Houses they designed, for fear of doing mischief to those crowds of People that were about them. Notwithstanding which care of theirs, many were so resolute or heedless as to run into the mouth of danger by which means many suffered in their lives and limbs, besides others supposed to be burned in their beds, to a number not yet to be computed.  
This hurry and distraction continuing all the day the Fire encresed, the houses being for the most part old and timber built, with the violence of the Wind, contributing to its fury, insomuch that about noon it had reached the Market-house, and endangered the Hospital of St. Thomas, and St. Mary Overy's Church, whereupon the people began to blow up houses at a great distance, and to play their Engines more violently against the Hospital and Houses adjacent; so that by four or five in the Afternoon, it was brought into a narrower compass, and the fury of it seemed to be somewhat abated, and towards the Evening, as the company began to draw homewards, some persons of Eminence undertaking to give the Engineers instructions, and encouragement by Rewards, and their own personal hazards, they at last conquered this cruel Tyrant, and by eleven at night got so much the masterdom that there appeared no further danger.  
But for the satisfaction of such as live more remote, and in regard of their own or their Relations concerns expect a more particular account the fire destroyed as followeth.  
From the Cock and Hart yard near the Spur-Inn, down to St. Thomas' Hospital, Viz. The Talbot, the George, the White-Hart, the Kings-head, the Queens-head, Inns; Together with their Back-houses, Stables, Barns, and Warehouses all burned down to the ground; The Hospital very much defaced, and the houses backward burned as far as St. Thomas' Churchyard, and the fronting-houses of that side of the way much shattered for a considerable way; from within a house or two of Pepper-Alley, on the other side many houses towards the Market likewise much shattered, and from below Chain-gate up to the Counter, upon St. Margrets-hill, burned down to the ground; The lane on the backside of the Counter leading toward St. Mary Overy's stairs burned and shattered on both sides of the way as far as St. Mary Overy's Church, which was with much difficulty preserved after the fire had taken hold of the Chancel, and damaged it considerably, Chain-gate, The Market-house, Fowl-lane, Angel-Court, Three-Crown-Court, the Counter and Counter-Lane, etc. all burned to the ground, only one house preserved as it were in the midst of the Fire.  
It is a difficult matter by surveying the ruins to compute the number of houses burned and demolished, but by a general estimate they are imagined to be near a thousand, though I confess I cannot guests them to be above five or six hundred, the vacancy of ground being as I conceive about three hundred paces in length and near half that in breadth, on most of which ground the houses stood very thick.  
Thus in the space of twenty hours has this fierce and terrible fire impoverished some hundreds of families, who had all their substance swept away in a moment, and many of them exposed to the kindness of their friends or the charity of strangers; but how it began remains as yet doubtful; the very next neighbours knowing nothing of it, and though the Reader may expect to have his curiosity satisfied in this particular, I shall not attempt to traduce one man to pleasure another; howsoever it came about, I am sure it was an Omnipotent hand that suffered it, and therefore as those poor souls that are undone by it, cannot but find pity from the good, so I hope they will meet with relief from the wealthy, whom nevertheless I caution to beware of Vagabonds, that wander the country under the pretence of being ruined thereby, though no way concerned therein.  
FINIS.