Great Fire of London able to tread on them." The cathedral was quickly a ruin. During the day, the flames began to move eastward from the neighbourhood of Pudding Lane, straight against the prevailing east wind and towards Pepys's home on Seething Lane and the Tower of London with its gunpowder stores. The garrison at the Tower took matters into their own hands after waiting all day for requested help from James's official firemen who were busy in the west. They created firebreaks by blowing up houses on a large scale in the vicinity, halting the advance of the fire. In a letter to
Pudding Lane the current name in the 15th century. Pudding Lane was one of the world's first one-way streets. An order restricting cart traffic to one-way travel on that and 16 other lanes around Thames Street was issued in 1617, an idea not copied for over 180 years until Albemarle Street became a one-way street in 1800. The nearest Underground station to Pudding Lane is Monument, a short distance to the west. The closest main-line railway stations are Fenchurch Street and Cannon Street. According to Stow, the lane had also been known as Rother Lane or Red Rose Lane. Variants include: Red