Many of the dwellings on Castle St were destroyed. Look across to the buildings on the opposite side of the street. These are clearly classic Georgian frontages, and were built post-fire – for example, Trolly Hall (Image 1), which replaced a house dating from 1670 that was destroyed in the fire.
In 10 hours, 138 houses out of a total of 386 (more than a third of the houses in the town) were destroyed, and 200 people made homeless. Amazingly, no people died, but 2 horses and 5 pigs were killed.
Many residents had lost everything that they owned – belongings, furniture, tools, and animals. They needed help urgently. Teams of roving fundraisers were sent to neighbouring communities to appeal for charity donations. The local gentry also contributed – Sir Ralph Verney of Claydon House committed to giving £50 a year, and the King (George I) gave £500 (equivalent of around £90,000 today)