Fire of London Disputes Act 1666

The Fire of London Disputes Act 1666 was an Act of the Parliament of England (18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 7) with the long title "An Act for erecting a Judicature for Determination of Differences touching Houses burned or demolished by reason of the late Fire which happened in London."^[1] Following the Great Fire of London, Parliament established a court to settle all differences arising between landlords and tenants of burnt buildings, overseen by judges of the King's Bench, Court of Common Pleas and Court of Exchequer.^[2]

Portrait of Sir Matthew Hale, by Wright

Fire of London Disputes Act 1666

Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for erecting a Judicature for Determination of Differences touching Houses burned or demolished by reason of the late Fire which happened in London.
Citation	18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 7 (Ruffhead: 19 Cha. 2. c. 2)
Dates
Royal assent	8 February 1667
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1948
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Fire of London, Property Disputes Act 1672
Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for reviveing the Judicature for determination of Differences touching Houses burnt downe and demolished by reason of the late Fire, which happened in London, and for rebuilding of the Navy Office.
Citation	25 Cha. 2. c. 10
Dates
Royal assent	29 March 1673
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1948
Status: Repealed

The 22 judges who served under the act included the following:

• Sir John Archer
• Sir Robert Atkyns
• Sir Edward Atkins
• Sir Orlando Bridgeman
• Sir Samuel Brown
• Sir William Ellys
• Sir Heneage Finch
• Sir Matthew Hale
• Sir John Kelynge
• Sir Timothy Littleton
• Sir William Morton
• Sir Francis North
• Sir Richard Rainsford
• Sir Edward Thurland
• Sir Christopher Turnor
• Sir Edward Turnour
• Sir Thomas Twisden
• Sir Thomas Tyrrell
• Sir John Vaughan
• Sir William Wilde
• Sir Hugh Wyndham
• Sir Wadham Wyndham

Portraits of the judges by John Michael Wright were put up in the Guildhall by the city in gratitude for their services.^[3] Their "Sunderland" style picture frames were made by Mary Ashfield, Mary Fleshier, Mary Dorrell, and John Norris between 1671 and 1675.^[4] The paintings, completed in 1670, hung in London's Guildhall until it was bombed during World War II; today only two (those of Sir Matthew Hale and Sir Hugh Wyndham) remain in the Guildhall Art Gallery^[5] the remainder having been destroyed or dispersed, mainly to the Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn and the Royal Courts of justice.

The act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.

See also

• Rebuilding of London Act 1666

References

1. 'Charles II, 1666: An Act for erecting a Judicature for Determination of Differences touching Houses burned or demolished by reason of the late Fire which happened in London.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628-80 (1819), pp. 601–03. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47389. Date accessed: 7 March 2007.
2. 'Book 1, Ch. 15: From the Fire to the death of Charles II', A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark (1773), pp. 230–55. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46732. Date accessed: 7 March 2007.
3. 'Book 2, Ch. 15: Cheap Ward', A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark (1773), pp. 587–593. Date accessed: 4 April 2011
4. "The Fire Judge Frames", Arnold Wiggins
5. "Fire Judges". Libraries, archives, museums and galleries: Guildhall Art Gallery. City of London. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.

The Fire of London occurred in the year 1666 where it burned the whole of the City of London. The fire started in a local bakery by the River Thames.