Letter

Letter from James Hicks addressed to 'To my good friends ye Postmasters betwixt London and Chester and so to Hollyhead', describing the Great Fire of London. James Hicks was a senior clerk at the post office on Threadneedle Street in the City of London. The post office burnt down on Monday 3 September 1666. Hicks fled with his wife and children, worried that their escape would be cut off, taking as many letters as they could. The rest of the letters were left to burn. The family went to Barnet, from where Hicks sent this letter to the postmasters between London, Chester and Holyhead, to inform them about the fire. The fire disrupted the postal service, making it very hard for reliable information about the disaster to get out. Consequently the country was awash with rumours of foreign invasion and arsonists on the rampage. Hicks has signed the letter ‘Your sorrowful friend’.