London grew beyond its city boundaries in the 17th Century. Moorfields, one of the last pieces of open land in the city was situated directly to the north. Finsbury Fields was located next to Moorfields, used by archers as practice grounds, and Mile End was a meeting point for troops.

The Stuarts ruled England from 1603 to 1714. A severe plague epidemic broke out just prior to the coronation of King James I, killing some 30,000 people. The new king revived the Lord Mayor’s Show, a popular annual parade in London that had been discontinued some years earlier. Thomas Button, an English Royal Navy officer and explorer, bought the dissolved Charterhouse abbey for 13,000 pounds. The new schoolhouse, chapel and hospital began operating in 1611. The Charterhouse School became a major public school in London.

In the 17th Century, Londoners met in the nave of St Paul’s Cathedral. Lawyers received clients at certain pillars of the church, merchants conducted business in the aisles, and the jobless looked for work. The centre of book trade was in the churchyard. Under James I, the theatre’s popularity grew, and Fleet Street became the centre of entertainment. Charles I was crowned king in 1625, and under his rule the West End attracted a large aristocratic population. Apart from those who visited the royal court, there were many country landowners and businessmen who wished to live in London because of the exciting social life. The Covent Garden piazza was laid out in 1632 and the nearby streets were constructed shortly thereafter, with the streets James, York, King and Charles named after members of the royal family.

The last great plague epidemic of London was in 1666, chronicled by many writers, such as Daniel Defoe and Samuel Pepys. Pepys wrote that some 8,000 people died in one week. The Great Fire of London marked the end of the epidemic. However, the fire destroyed more than half of the city, including the Royal Exchange, St Paul’s and 87 parish churches, but only claimed some 16 lives. The architects Robert Hooke, John Evelyn and Christopher Wren presented plans for restoring the city within a few days of the fire, but none of the plans were chosen. The city was rebuilt according to its original plan.

After the fire, very few aristocrats returned to London, taking houses in the West End instead. St James emerged as a new and trendy district. Whitehall Palace was the main royal residence until it burned down in the late 17th Century. The middle and elite classes completely split up. The city became home to middle-class traders, while the aristocrats moved to residences outside the city proper. To avoid another Great Fire, Parliament banned the use of wood in construction of buildings. Wren was placed in charge of rebuilding the ruined churches, and replacing St Paul’s with a Baroque structure, which remained the main symbol of the city for 150 years.