n the UK we like to trace the idea of building regulation back to fire, indeed to one particular fire. The Great Fire of London destroyed 13,000 homes, demanding the reconstruction of the medieval core of that city as far as the city walls. Its effects were more far-reaching.

The 1667 Reconstruction Act and 1668 Fire Prevention Regulations are popularly thought of as the UK’s first building standards. Along with the 1774 Fire Prevention Act, they shaped the urban form, construction materials and detailing of London in ways that are still visible today.

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