I was watching television and found that the UK’s Channel 5 was showing a program about the Great Fire of London. It was entitled, ‘The Great Fire of London – Hour by Hour‘ and turned out to be really interesting. Although the general information was great, at times patronising, the focus on the people of London was what mattered most.
I was captivated by the three people that they focussed on, but found I was drawn to the shoe-maker, the most. This woman had a workshop that was on the edge of the North-Western boundary of the fire’s path. It sadly got burnt down, right as the fire was closing its grip on the streets. This individual was incredible; she created leather shoes for the orphan children that resided in Christ’s Hospital. Her name was Cybil Theam. Since watching this, she has been in my thoughts.
Suzannah Lipscomb gave some great narration to her story, and told us about the skilled worker and her future. Somewhat promiscuous, she had trouble with the space that she stayed in, having sold alcahol for a time. There is little known after this, but there is a chance that she managed to make it back to shoe-making, but this is not confirmed. Suzannah found that the Museum of London has one of her trade tokens in their archives. I loved the feeling that was put across by the presenter, as this tiny piece of history, connected to her subject, was held in her palm.
It got me thinking about those that were forgotten. I highly advise watching this Channel 5 documentray. It feels long, but the human life that is portrayed, is worth the time. Having looked at the records, the month of the fire was missing from the documents, as printing presses were not in operation during this short, but important, event. It feels sad that so many lives were likely lost and not recorded for us to learn about them, now. To them, I say, ‘We know you were there, we know you existed, hats off to you.’ Still, a long time has gone by, but there are small pieces of the fire left behind. Trust me, watch the program, you will learn something.
(Links were working as of February ‘2024.)
