James Braidwood
(1800-1861)

To the memory of James Braidwood, superintendent of the London Fire Brigade, who was killed near this spot in the execution of his duty at the great fire on 22nd June 1861. A just man and one that feared god, of good report among all the nation.

33 Tooley Street, Southwark, SE1, London, United Kingdom where they died near (1861)

Great Fire of Tooley Street. The large warehouses in this area, stacked with combustible materials, were always vulnerable to fire. Hay's Wharf was one of the earliest complexes to incorporate fireproofing, using incombustible floors of brick arches on cast iron beams. Despite this Hay's Wharf was destroyed in the great fire of Tooley Street of 1861, London's biggest fire since the Great Fire in 1666 and one that claimed more lives. It raged for two weeks and killed, among others, the superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, James Braidwood, when a warehouse exploded. It was partly as a result of this that the London Fire Brigade was founded in 1866.

Tooley Street / Battle Bridge Lane, London, United Kingdom where they was