In 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed much of the centre of London, but also helped to kill off some of the black rats and fleas that carried the plague bacillus. Bubonic Plague was known as the Black Death and had been known in England for centuries.

The 1665–66 epidemic was on a much smaller scale than the earlier Black Death pandemic. It became known afterwards as the "great" plague mainly because it was the last widespread outbreak of bubonic plague in England during the 400-year Second Pandemic.

The earliest cases of disease occurred in the spring of 1665 in a parish outside the city walls called St Giles-in-the-Fields. The death rate began to rise during the hot summer months and...

The Black Death killed many people in the 1340s and 1350s. In 1665, another plague outbreak arrived in England. This is often referred to as the ‘Great Plague.’

Feb 27, 2025 · Great Plague of London, epidemic of plague that ravaged London, England, from 1665 to 1666. City records indicate that some 68,596 people died during the epidemic, though the actual number of deaths is suspected to have exceeded 100,000 out of a total population estimated at 460,000.

The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as 50 million people [2] perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. [3] .

The Black Death killed many knights, ladies, and merchants. It also killed many people in convents, friaries, and monasteries. Artisans lost their jobs because of this event.

Feb 13, 2025 · By late autumn 1665, the death rate began to fall. The cold weather reduced the flea population, and by February 1666, the King and his court felt safe enough to return to London. The city had survived, but at a terrible cost. Parish records show that some areas lost half their population.

The Great Plague of 1665 was a major epidemic of bubonic plague in London which killed 100,000 people, a year before the Great Fire of London.

In 1665 a devastating epidemic struck this country killing thousands of people. Officially the ‘Great Plague’ killed 68,595 people in London that year. The true figure is probably nearer 100,000 or one-fifth of the city’s population. Bubonic plague did not arrive in London suddenly in 1665.