Fire bucket

This leather bucket is typical of the kind used to fight fires in the 1600s. It is waterproofed with a layer of pitch inside. Leather buckets had to be carefully looked after otherwise they would split. Though there was no fire brigade at the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666, each parish had its own fire-fighting equipment, usually stored in the local church.

Local people were expected to use standard items, such as hooks, buckets, ladders and axes to fight fires in their parish. One of the problems during the Great Fire was that some of equipment had been badly maintained. Ladders and axes were missing and buckets had holes. Another problem was that most people simply tried to escape. King Charles II was forced to tour around the City on horseback, throwing money to encourage people to stay and fight the fire.