St Olave Hart Street has secured funding for an innovative project bringing together science, theology, history and place to explore the Great Fire of London, inspiring reflection on fire safety and climate change today.
Supported by the Scientists in Congregations Programme, run by Equipping Christian Leaders in an Age of Science (ECLAS) and funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the project will culminate in an open day on Saturday 5 September. Drawing on Samuel Pepys’ diary, the event will explore the start, spread and suppression of the Great Fire, which raged through the City from 2 to 6 September 1666.
The Revd Phillip Dawson, Rector of St Olave Hart Street, saw an opportunity to draw on the convergence of place and story. St Olave’s was one of the few churches to survive the Great Fire and is the parish church and burial place of Samuel Pepys, whose diary remains one of the most important records of the disaster. Pepys later became President of the Royal Society, linking church, history and science.
Phillip believes St Olave’s is the ideal setting to explore the relationship between faith and science.
“St Olave’s is a place where seemingly polar opposites are held in a holy tension,” he said. “It’s not a museum. It’s a place of sacred encounter, of transformation, where the glorious complexity of all life meets and new meaning quietly emerges.”
He added: “Science helps us understand how the Great Fire happened and, through research today, how lives and communities can be better protected in the future. Our faith invites us to reflect on what events like that mean for humanity – how we respond with hope, compassion and responsibility. This is a place where those conversations can happen together.”
Bringing science and faith together
Visitors will experience live fire science demonstrations in Seething Lane Gardens, opposite the church and the site of Pepys’ former home, led by Professor Guillermo Rein and his team from the Hazelab at Imperial College London. The demonstrations will bring Pepys’ writings to life.
Interactive exhibitions at St Olave Hart Street and All Hallows by the Tower, linked by volunteer “fire walkers”, will explore the theology of fire, from biblical imagery to changing Christian interpretations of the Great Fire through the centuries.
The project has been developed in partnership with Imperial College London, All Hallows by the Tower and other local organisations, creating an event that reaches well beyond the church building.
“St Olave Hart Street is a hidden gem that deserves to be less hidden,” Phillip said. “Places like this really matter because they carry the stories that shape us to be the people we were created to be. People are drawn here by its history, as a survivor of the Great Fire and the Blitz, and leave transformed by the building and its people.”
A lasting legacy
While the open day is the public focus, Phillip hopes its impact will continue long afterwards. Videos of the demonstrations will support future school visits, helping children studying the Great Fire connect classroom learning with one of the few churches that survived the disaster. The project will also help equip the congregation to speak more confidently about science alongside their faith.
Phillip hopes the project will encourage other churches to build partnerships in their own communities.
“One of the joys of this project has been discovering how many people, from scientists and historians to neighbouring churches and local organisations, have wanted to work together,” he said. “Sometimes all it takes is asking.”
Ultimately, Phillip hopes visitors will come because they are curious about Samuel Pepys, the Great Fire or the science, but leave asking deeper questions.
Register to attend
Faith and Fire – Exploring the Science and Theology of the Great Fire of London will take place on Saturday 5 September, from 12pm to 5pm.
The free event will include live fire science demonstrations in Seething Lane Gardens, guided walks between St Olave Hart Street and All Hallows by the Tower, and interactive exhibitions exploring the science and theology of the Great Fire.
