London two months. The fortifications failed their only test when the New Model Army entered London in 1647, and they were levelled by Parliament the same year. London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population. The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding took over ten years and was supervised by Robert Hooke as Surveyor of London. In 1708 Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral
Early fires of London fire occurred in London in 1087, at the beginning of the reign of William Rufus. It consumed much of the Norman city. St Paul's Cathedral was the most significant building to be destroyed in this blaze, which also damaged the Palatine tower built by William the Conqueror on the banks of the River Fleet so badly that the remains had to be pulled down. Part of the stone from the tower was then used in the reconstruction of the cathedral. Before 1666, the phrase "Great Fire of London" was generally used by Londoners to denote one of two major conflagrations