Thomas Farriner (sometimes written as Faynor or Farynor; – 20 December 1670) was an English baker and churchwarden in 17th century London. Allegedly, his bakery in

Pudding Lane Pudding Lane is a small street in London, widely known as the location of Thomas Farriner's bakery, where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. It runs between Eastcheap and Thames Street in the historic City of London, and intersects Monu ...

was the starting point for the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

on 2 September 1666. Great Fire of London Map

Career

Farriner joined the Baker's Company in 1637, and had his own shop by 1649. By the time of the Great Fire of London, Thomas Farriner was a well-known baker in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, who provided

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during the Anglo-Dutch war.

Great Fire of London

In the early hours of 2 September 1666, in his house on

, Farriner was awakened by smoke billowing under the door of his bedroom. His bakery downstairs, it turned out, had caught fire. Farriner and his daughter escaped out of an upstairs window, but their maid refused to follow because she was frightened of falling onto the street. When their house burned down, she died, becoming the first victim of the Great Fire of London. After the fire, he rebuilt his business in Pudding Lane. He and his children signed the Bill falsely accusing Frenchman Robert Hubert of starting the fire. Farriner died in 1670, aged 54–55, slightly over four years after the Great Fire of London.

In popular culture

Thomas Farriner and his daughter are featured characters in the 2016 musical ''

Bumblescratch ''Bumblescratch'' is an original sung-through musical with book, music and lyrics by Robert J. Sherman. The musical premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 4 September 2016 as a one night, celebrity gala charity event in aid of Variety, ...

''.

Andrew Buchan Andrew Neil Buchan is an English actor and writer. He is known for his roles as DI James Marsh in the ITV drama '' Code of Silence'' (2025), ITV drama ''Broadchurch'' (2013–17), Scott Foster in the BBC political drama '' Party Animals'' (2 ...

played Farriner in the 2014 TV series '' The Great Fire''. In the ''

Heroes of Olympus ''The Heroes of Olympus'' is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaea. In the fourth book of the series, there is also a fig ...

'' series by

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Jr. ( ; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million cop ...

, Farriner (written as "Faynor") is a demigod son of

Hephaestus Hephaestus ( , ; wikt:Hephaestus#Alternative forms, eight spellings; ) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985: III.2. ...

, the last child of Hephaestus able to create and control fire before Leo Valdez, one of the main protagonists in the series, and that his inability to control his power was what started the great fire.

Career

Great Fire of London

In popular culture

References

Further reading