A ‘awful conflagration, only inferior to the Great Fire of London in 1666”

A night view of Southwark during the Great Fire of Tooley Street that devastated the riverside wharfs, with a fireboat spraying water into the inferno. The fire began in Cotton's Wharf and spread quickly because of the combustible tallow, hemp, sugar and cotton stored there. Although the fire was contained within ten hours, it continued to burn for two weeks. The most high-profile casualty was James Braidwood (1800-61), who was killed when a warehouse wall fell on him. He has been the Master of Engines in the world's first municipal fire service in Edinburgh in 1824, before moving to London to become the first director of the London Fire Engine Establishment (which became the London Fire Brigade) in 1833. The following year he helped fight the fire that destroyed the Palace of Westminster. His body was not recovered for two days, after which he was given a hero's funeral. This print was published less that a week after the event.