The Great Fire of London was a devastating fire that destroyed much of the English capital in 1666. It extended from east to west, from the Tower of London to the Temple church, and northward to Holborn Bridge. It broke out in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane and lasted four days, and destroyed 87 churches, including St. Paul's Cathedral, and many public buildings, among them the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, and the Guildhall. In the ruins were involved 13,200 houses and 400 streets. The plague had not disappeared from London when the fire occurred.