[originaltext] London in the 17th century was very attractive, like many Eur

London in the 17th century was very attractive, like many European cities of the time. There was a beautiful cathedral, St. Paul’s, and a magnificent Town Hall, the Guildhall. Also, there were many attractive churches and important buildings. There was one large bridge across the River Thames, and on the south side of the river there were one or two theatres, including Shakespeare’s theatre, the Globe.
    However, the majority of the half a million inhabitants of the city lived in small houses in narrow, dirty streets. There were no drains, so people threw their dirty water and rubbish onto the street. Because of this, there was a strong smell and there were many rats and flies. In 1665, there was a great plague in the city of London. At least 70,000 people died and many others left London and went into the country for several months. Then slowly the plague died away and people started to return from the country.
    On September 2, 1666 at about three o’clock in the morning, a fire suddenly started in a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane. There was a strong wind and the fire spread quickly from one street to the next. The fire lasted for three days and destroyed 13,200 homes and 88 churches, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Guildhall and many other important buildings. This was the end of the old city of London.