0:00:02 > 0:00:04350 years ago this month,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08THE most devastating fire in the capital's history destroyed
0:00:08 > 0:00:13most of the City of London and 80% of its churches at the time,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15including St Paul's Cathedral.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Some saw the Great Fire of London as an act of God,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23others saw it as a deliberate act of religious terrorism -
0:00:23 > 0:00:26most were just looking for someone to blame.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32As well as exploring the religious responses to the inferno of 1666,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35I also discover the magnificent churches
0:00:35 > 0:00:37designed by Sir Christopher Wren
0:00:37 > 0:00:40that formed the heart of the new London
0:00:40 > 0:00:41that rose from the ashes.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Church bells used to be the herald of both good news and bad.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49And in Norwich, I get to grips with the ancient art
0:00:49 > 0:00:52of bell-ringing as churches look for new recruits.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55And over in South Wales,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I meet a choir with a difference who are part of
0:00:58 > 0:01:03a scientific experiment to prove that singing really can do you good.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Well, we've no shortage of inspiring music today
0:01:13 > 0:01:16from churches across Great Britain,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19including one of the many hymns written by Charles Wesley,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22who said that this one should be sung in tumult,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24in times of great difficult and challenge.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48September 1666 and the Great Fire of London
0:03:48 > 0:03:50has brought the city to its knees.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54"All the sky was a fiery aspect,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57"like the top of a burning oven.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01"The noise and crackling and thunder of the impetuous flames,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05"the shrieking of women and children, the hurry of people,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10"the fall of towers, houses and churches was like a hideous storm."
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Well, that was the harrowing, very graphic account
0:04:14 > 0:04:15by Christian John Evelyn
0:04:15 > 0:04:19in his diaries as he watched the devastation unfolding.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23And, using biblical imagery, he described the scene
0:04:23 > 0:04:26as a resemblance of Sodom, or the last day.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29So, plainly, he thought that it felt like the end of the world.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37It all began here, on Pudding Lane, as historian Kate Williams explains.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Well, it seems like the most unassuming city street,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44but we're pretty much on the site of Thomas Farriner's bakery,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47except, he said, "It wasn't me, it was nothing to do with me!"
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And then the fire raged for four days
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and then it ended in Pye Corner.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56And because of pudding and pye, those food references,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01lots of Londoners said it was God's punishment for the sin of gluttony.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Well, we've already heard that people worried that it was
0:05:03 > 0:05:06apocalyptic. Is that really what they thought?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08People were absolutely terrified.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11So you've got these tiny houses all made of wood up in flames.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Within a matter of hours, this whole area
0:05:13 > 0:05:16was one firestorm and people couldn't escape.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20They dashed down to the Thames, that was no good because it was all on fire there,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and the peak was when St Paul's itself goes on fire,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26which everyone had thought was safe because it was made of stone.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29But there was wood scaffolding and a few embers
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and the whole place was flaming.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Imagine the seat of Christianity, heaven on earth,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37the great St Paul's is up in flames.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39So it really was terrifying.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It was like the fires of hell.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44And what made people really panic was the date -
0:05:44 > 0:05:46it was the year 1666,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48and in the Book of Revelation,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51666 was the number of the beast.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55After the flames were finally quenched,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59an Act of Parliament ordered that a monument was constructed to,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02as they put it, "Preserve the memory of this dreadful visitation."
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Thousands of Londoners walk past this every day
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and probably never wonder why it's here.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Well, this monument marks the position of the very first
0:06:12 > 0:06:16of the 87 churches that were burned in the Great Fire.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18So it's a monument to the city that was burned,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22the churches and all the sacrifice that the people made.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26So in the aftermath of the fire, what was the general mood?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29The belief was that the Catholics had caused it.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32They were seen as these religious terrorists.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35And this is what actually was inscribed on the monument.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40So in 1681, on the side, it said that the fire was caused by
0:06:40 > 0:06:43a popish frenzy which has not yet been quenched.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47The inscription wasn't lifted off until 1830,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49after the Catholic Emancipation Act.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53So the Catholics were blamed for the Great Fire of London for 150 years.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57So, was it possible for anything to quell those rumours
0:06:57 > 0:06:59and stop the bloodshed?
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Charles II put out a statement saying it was an act of God,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04not a papist plot.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08And on top of this, he said, "We all must atone for our sins.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11"There must be a day of atonement, a day of fasting
0:07:11 > 0:07:14"and we all must say sorry for all the things we have done."
0:07:15 > 0:07:22# I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills
0:07:22 > 0:07:30# From whence cometh my help
0:07:30 > 0:07:38# My help cometh even from the Lord
0:07:39 > 0:07:47# Who hath made heaven and earth
0:07:47 > 0:07:55# He will not suffer thy foot to be moved
0:07:55 > 0:08:03# And he that keepeth thee will not sleep
0:08:03 > 0:08:11# Behold, he that keepeth Israel
0:08:11 > 0:08:18# Shall neither slumber nor sleep
0:08:18 > 0:08:25# The Lord himself is thy keeper
0:08:25 > 0:08:34# The Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand
0:08:34 > 0:08:43# So that the sun shall not burn thee by day
0:08:43 > 0:08:50# Neither the moon by night
0:08:50 > 0:08:59# The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil
0:08:59 > 0:09:07# Yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul
0:09:07 > 0:09:19# The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
0:09:19 > 0:09:28# From this time forth for evermore
0:09:31 > 0:09:37# Glory be to the Father
0:09:37 > 0:09:41# And to the Son
0:09:41 > 0:09:46# And to the Holy Ghost
0:09:46 > 0:09:52# As it was in the beginning
0:09:52 > 0:09:59# Is now and ever shall be
0:09:59 > 0:10:05# World without end
0:10:05 > 0:10:13# Amen. #
0:10:16 > 0:10:21Singing always make me feel good, or am I just imagining that?
0:10:21 > 0:10:26Well, scientists have been visiting some of the Tenovus choirs
0:10:26 > 0:10:30across South Wales to put that feel-good factor to the test.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33# Lifting me higher... #
0:10:33 > 0:10:36I think we're like a family.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39I know that I'm going to meet people who will cheer me up,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41the singing cheers me up.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45All the members of the Tenovus choir here at the Tabernacle Church
0:10:45 > 0:10:48in Bridgend have been affected by cancer.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Supporting each other in singing and we're supporting each other
0:10:52 > 0:10:55very subtly when we have problems, you know.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57# Higher and higher! #
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Lissa and her dad are two of their members.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05When Lissa's mum died from cancer last year,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07it left a huge gap in their lives.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Tell me about her. What was she like as a person?
0:11:10 > 0:11:12She was my best friend.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18She would have loved the choir, I'm sure. Mm. Were you very close?
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Very close, yeah.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Um...because I'm disabled, she was my carer for a long time, as well.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29So, how did the idea of joining a choir come about?
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Well, that was because of my daughter, that was.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33She came up here one day and she said,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35"Hey, Dad, I've seen this advert for...
0:11:35 > 0:11:38"They want people to join the choir of Tenovus."
0:11:38 > 0:11:41We looked at it and it was cancer support.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44We hadn't long joined and, um...God Only Knows
0:11:44 > 0:11:47was on the list to sing, by the Beach Boys,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49which was my mum and dad's song.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53And it was played at their wedding and played in her funeral.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56# God only knows what I'd be without you
0:11:56 > 0:11:58# God only knows...#
0:11:58 > 0:12:01And it was like as if we were meant to be there, you know,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03like something had brought us there.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Do you feel as if God's in it? Yes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11I think he's always got your back and he's always got a plan.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14# God only knows what I'd be... #
0:12:14 > 0:12:17What does singing do for you, do you think?
0:12:17 > 0:12:23I suffer from chronic pain and it definitely distracts me from that.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I don't even think about it when I'm singing.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32Er...it just makes you feel happy and joyful, I guess.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Certainly, by the end of practice, you're coming out of there
0:12:36 > 0:12:39with a spring in your step and a smile on your face, you know.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43So clearly, Lissa and Pete believe singing is good for them,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45but what's really going on?
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Dr Ian Lewis analysed the effects
0:12:48 > 0:12:51of one hour's singing on the choir members.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53For this experiment, I had to get on the road
0:12:53 > 0:12:55to collect as many saliva samples as I could
0:12:55 > 0:12:57from as many choir members as I could.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59What were you looking for in the spit?
0:12:59 > 0:13:00We were looking for a range of things.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04We were looking for different chemicals that could show
0:13:04 > 0:13:06how the singing was affecting people's mood
0:13:06 > 0:13:08and psychological state.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13Dr Lewis has tested hundreds of choir members across Wales
0:13:13 > 0:13:16and he's come to reveal the results to the Bridgend choir.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18What's your spit doing?
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Now, in the blue, that is a stress hormone called cortisol.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27It's widely known as a very good measure and marker for stress response.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Now, as you can see, this stress hormone dropped.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35And this was in five different choirs on five different nights
0:13:35 > 0:13:37and was the case across the board.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Amazingly, there was also a rise
0:13:40 > 0:13:43in hormones that help the body's immune system,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47as well as the feel-good hormones, like endorphins and oxytocin.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Now, the fact that we can measure that in just one hour
0:13:50 > 0:13:51was pretty mind-blowing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53APPLAUSE So there you are -
0:13:53 > 0:13:56scientific proof of something Songs Of Praise has always known -
0:13:56 > 0:13:59that singing is good for body and soul.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Coming up later,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53we find out what happened after the Great Fire
0:15:53 > 0:15:56when a new London emerged from the ashes
0:15:56 > 0:16:00with more than 50 new churches at the heart of its grand design.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04And it's God's grand design which is being celebrated today,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06as Christians on Harvest Sunday
0:16:06 > 0:16:09give thanks for the fruits of God's creation.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13And this hymn is a must at every harvest festival.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Down the years, church bells have not only chimed
0:19:14 > 0:19:18their way through everyday life, but have warned of danger too,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22just as I'm sure the bells in the City of London rang during the Great Fire.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Well, this month, as part of Heritage Open Days,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29hundreds of churches up and down the country have opened their doors
0:19:29 > 0:19:32to visitors to try and encourage new interest
0:19:32 > 0:19:35in the ancient art of bell-ringing.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37BELLS TOLL
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Long before newspapers and mobile phones,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43church bells were the megaphones of the day,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47ringing out national and local news to the neighbourhood.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50But how can bell-ringing survive in today's society?
0:19:50 > 0:19:52BELLS PEAL
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Here at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59bell-ringing is thriving, and has been for centuries.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02So I'm climbing all the way up this bell tower
0:20:02 > 0:20:05to meet some of their 30 members.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Wow! That's fantastic!
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Simon Rudd loves ringing in a bell tower with such an impressive past.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Every time I come up to the stairs into the ringing chamber here,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I feel the weight of history on my shoulders.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Because the first recorded full peal
0:20:21 > 0:20:25was rung here on 2nd May in 1715
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and it's recorded on the fine peal board that you can see on the wall.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31So we're very proud and privileged to have that
0:20:31 > 0:20:33here at St Peter Mancroft.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36We are a disparate group of people, but when we come together,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39we come together with a common purpose.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43It's a message to tell the city that there is
0:20:43 > 0:20:47a church alive and active, at the beating heart of the city,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51and to sound out the message that the church is here is a great one.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Jo's going. Sue's gone.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55BELLS PEAL
0:20:55 > 0:20:57A recent BBC local radio news report
0:20:57 > 0:21:00has warned that there aren't enough volunteers
0:21:00 > 0:21:03to keep the country's 5,000 bell towers ringing,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06with just over half of those surveyed saying
0:21:06 > 0:21:10declining church attendances made it harder to recruit.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14We're blessed here with a very strong team of ringers,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but the age range is probably a little on the high side.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20We're very conscious of the fact we need to be seeking out
0:21:20 > 0:21:23the next generation of ringers who are going to come along.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27It can be a struggle to get people to take up the art and stick at it.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The outward aspects of ringing seem a little bit dusty
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and a bit...we're all old wrinklies and doing things in a dusty tower.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Here we go. I'll pull that bit. It goes up and you pull it back down...
0:21:38 > 0:21:41So the bell-ringing team here have a device that they hope
0:21:41 > 0:21:45will encourage new recruits to try bell-ringing for themselves.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49This is a portable mini bell ring.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51And anyone can have a go.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53There's lots of youngsters here.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56One of the great things about a mini ring like this is the bells are very tiny,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59so they're very easily used for young people.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03And...catch! Oop! And pull it down again.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06It's different. I've never really done anything like that before.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10I don't think I was that good at it.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14I kept on missing the fluffy bit on the string.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17It was fun because I was pulling on string to make a sound.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Well, if the kids are doing it...
0:22:21 > 0:22:23And then just pull down and let the other hand go up.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25BELLS PEAL Oh, no, hang on a minute. I let go!
0:22:25 > 0:22:27THEY LAUGH
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Oh, I've got it! You've got it.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Yay! Keep you fit, this, wouldn't it? Yeah. Yes. That's it.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Do you know, this is really good fun.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41So if you love the sound of church bells,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44why don't you have a go at getting those bells ringing yourself?
0:22:44 > 0:22:45BELLS PEAL
0:25:07 > 0:25:11The Great Fire of London changed the medieval city forever,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13destroying hundreds of acres,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18burning more than 13,000 houses and most of the city's churches.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21But out of the destruction came opportunity
0:25:21 > 0:25:25as bids came pouring in to rebuild the city.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26And there is St Paul's,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30the masterpiece of the man who landed the job,
0:25:30 > 0:25:31Sir Christopher Wren.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Christopher Wren was this amazing polymath.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38He was a mathematician, a physicist, an astronomer and an architect.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41He was a great friend of the king, and, of course, a devout Anglican.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46And what he really wanted to do was really put his stamp on London
0:25:46 > 0:25:50and to leave the fire behind, to create this brand-new, forward city.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55So, in some ways, St Paul's was the symbol of the new city?
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Well, the burning of old St Paul's was so terrible,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00so cataclysmic, no-one had expected it,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03so the new cathedral became the symbol of this new,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05forward-facing London,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07and what I really love is that
0:26:07 > 0:26:10the symbols of the fire are on the outside.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11So there were gilded flames,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13and also, there's this great phoenix,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17and underneath is the motto, "Resurgam" - I shall rise again.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20So, while these grand churches were being built, what about
0:26:20 > 0:26:23ordinary people who'd lost not just their churches, but their homes?
0:26:23 > 0:26:26The ordinary people has lost so much in the Great Fire,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30and what you see after the fire is a real surge in religious worship.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33People are desperate for something like that never to happen again,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35and also, they've seen the fires of hell
0:26:35 > 0:26:37and they really, really don't want to go there.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Wren's redesign of over 50 London churches
0:26:42 > 0:26:45transformed the skyline forever.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50One church hidden amongst today's offices is St Stephen's Walbrook.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Oh, my goodness, what a surprise!
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Isn't it incredible? It's such an amazing church. And it really...
0:26:59 > 0:27:01I mean, it was so significant to Wren,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05basically because it was his own, local parish church.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07He lived just around the corner at 15 Walbrook.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10And it was also the church where the Lord Mayor worshipped.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13So this one, he really wanted to get right.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15What can you see here that tells us something about
0:27:15 > 0:27:17the character of the man? What was important to him?
0:27:17 > 0:27:21What's so important to him is space and light,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23and also, geometric shapes.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26So these shapes we've got up here, these fantastic windows,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and, of course, what's the most striking about this church
0:27:29 > 0:27:31is the absolutely fabulous dome -
0:27:31 > 0:27:34the prototype for the dome of St Paul's.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36This is the first domed church in England,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and to Wren, this is the way of celebrating God.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43What a huge amount that man achieved.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Did he live long enough to see the end result?
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Wren lived till 91.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51And the whole skyline of London, it was all about churches.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54And that was what they really wanted to show after the Great Fire,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57to have churches dominating the skyline.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58Every time you looked at the skyline,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00all you saw was the churches,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04because for Wren, the most important part of rebuilding London
0:28:04 > 0:28:07after the Great Fire was celebrating the glory of God.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Next week, I'll be hearing about Quakers,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27whose resolute faith in times of war
0:30:27 > 0:30:31compelled them to take a stance as conscientious objectors.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34But today, we finish with one of Charles Wesley's most-loved hymns,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37said to be a favourite of his brother, John.
0:30:37 > 0:30:38Until next week, bye-bye.