Works of Dr Thomas Sydenham

This document reveals King Charles II's reaction to the disappointing amount of money (around £14,000) collected for the Great Fire of London relief fund during the national fast on 10 October 1666. Issued on 26 September 1668, the proclamation states that many places across the country made no contribution at all. It also says that the total amount collected was less than that given to small towns after similar disasters. The king demands that places which had not paid into the fund do so, 'upon pain of Our high displeasure, and such other penalties as may by law be inflicted upon them', by 1 February 1669. Around £2,300 was donated as a result.

The continuing need for money demonstrates the dire situation that many Londoners found themselves in, even 2 years after the Great Fire. The fund was for the 'Relief and Succour of the said Distressed Poor'. The fact that so little was collected shows that the country as a whole was suffering in the wake of the plague of 1665 and several years of war, and had little spare cash to give.