Thomas Bludworth: Difference between revisions
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Lord Mayor of London. Claim to fame due to his role in the Great Fire of London (1666). | Lord Mayor of London. Claim to fame due to his role in the Great Fire of London (1666). | ||
On the day the fire broke out, he did not know that what he was going to utter about the fire was going to be a derogatory phrase and he was going to be remembered by the following generations with this phrase:"Pish! A woman might piss it out!"(Johnson). However,he was wrong. | On the day the fire broke out, he did not know that what he was going to utter about the fire was going to be a derogatory phrase and he was going to be remembered by the following generations with this phrase: "Pish! A woman might piss it out!" (Johnson). However, he was wrong. | ||
Later, he wrote to Joseph Williamson that it was "the severest year ever man had" upon the Plague and the Great Fire of London (Cruickshanks). What Pepys also wrote about the Mayor when he met him in Cannon Street may be regarded as a sign of his despair: "At last met my lord mayor in Cannon Street, like a man spent, with a handkerchief about his neck. To the King’s message, he cried, like a fainting woman, "Lord, what can I do? I am spent: people will not obey me. I have been pulling down houses, but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it" (Pepys 288). | Later, he wrote to Joseph Williamson that it was "the severest year ever man had" upon the Plague and the Great Fire of London (Cruickshanks). What Pepys also wrote about the Mayor when he met him in Cannon Street may be regarded as a sign of his despair: "At last met my lord mayor in Cannon Street, like a man spent, with a handkerchief about his neck. To the King’s message, he cried, like a fainting woman, "Lord, what can I do? I am spent: people will not obey me. I have been pulling down houses, but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it" (Pepys 288). | ||
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'''Works Cited | '''Works Cited''' | ||
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Cruickshanks, Eveline. "Bludworth, Thomas (1620-82), of Gracechurch Street, London and Thorncroft, Leatherhead, Surr." ''The History of Parliament'' https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/bludworth-thomas-1620-82. Accessed 7 January 2023. | |||
Green, Mathew. "Lost in the Great Fire: Which London Buildings Disappeared in the 1666 Blaze?" ''The Guardian'', 30 August 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/30/great-fire-of-london-1666-350th-anniversary-which-buildings-disappeared. Accessed 7 January 2023. | |||
Hayle, Joanne. "Sir Thomas Bloodworth and the Great Fire of London: Villain or Scapegoat?" ''Owlcation'', 15 June 2022, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Sir-Thomas-Bloodworth-and-the-Great-Fire-of-London-Villain-or-Scapegoat. Accessed 7 January 2023. | |||
Johnson, Ben. "The Great Fire of London." ''Historic UK'', https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Great-Fire-of-London/. Accessed 6 January 2023. | |||
Pepys, Samuel. ''Diary of Samuel Pepys'', edited by J. Bumpus,Princeton University, 2008. | |||
Latest revision as of 11:41, 18 January 2023
Lord Mayor of London. Claim to fame due to his role in the Great Fire of London (1666).
On the day the fire broke out, he did not know that what he was going to utter about the fire was going to be a derogatory phrase and he was going to be remembered by the following generations with this phrase: "Pish! A woman might piss it out!" (Johnson). However, he was wrong.
Later, he wrote to Joseph Williamson that it was "the severest year ever man had" upon the Plague and the Great Fire of London (Cruickshanks). What Pepys also wrote about the Mayor when he met him in Cannon Street may be regarded as a sign of his despair: "At last met my lord mayor in Cannon Street, like a man spent, with a handkerchief about his neck. To the King’s message, he cried, like a fainting woman, "Lord, what can I do? I am spent: people will not obey me. I have been pulling down houses, but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it" (Pepys 288).
The blame was put on Thomas Bloodworth as the fire caused extensive destruction in London and the Mayor was believed to underestimate the fire. On the other hand, there is also the perspective that "the Mayor was bound by protocol" and he needed the permission of Charles II to demolish the buidings (Hayle). He may be considered to be the villain of the catastrophic incident now, but if he had taken initiative to break the rules of the political procedure he may be regarded as the hero today (Hayle).
Works Cited
Cruickshanks, Eveline. "Bludworth, Thomas (1620-82), of Gracechurch Street, London and Thorncroft, Leatherhead, Surr." The History of Parliament https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/bludworth-thomas-1620-82. Accessed 7 January 2023.
Green, Mathew. "Lost in the Great Fire: Which London Buildings Disappeared in the 1666 Blaze?" The Guardian, 30 August 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/30/great-fire-of-london-1666-350th-anniversary-which-buildings-disappeared. Accessed 7 January 2023.
Hayle, Joanne. "Sir Thomas Bloodworth and the Great Fire of London: Villain or Scapegoat?" Owlcation, 15 June 2022, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Sir-Thomas-Bloodworth-and-the-Great-Fire-of-London-Villain-or-Scapegoat. Accessed 7 January 2023.
Johnson, Ben. "The Great Fire of London." Historic UK, https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Great-Fire-of-London/. Accessed 6 January 2023.
Pepys, Samuel. Diary of Samuel Pepys, edited by J. Bumpus,Princeton University, 2008.