Fire destroys the Custom House, London
- When
- 1814
- Where
- Sugar Quay, City of London
- Episodes
- 1
A fire destroyed the Custom House in the City of London on 12 February 1814, causing explosions of gunpowder and spirits. The incident occurred at the old building located at Sugar Quay, which had stood until that year. A new structure designed by David Laing was already under construction nearby to replace the damaged facility.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The Custom House in the City of London had been present in the area since the 14th century, with a building on its current site rebuilt multiple times. Until 1814, the Custom House stood at Sugar Quay in the parish of All Hallows Barking, immediately to the east of the present site. This location served as the primary facility for collecting customs duties before the fire.
New Construction. To meet the need for a new facility, a building designed by David Laing was begun in October 1813. This new construction was located on a site immediately to the west of Ripleys's building, where Bear Quay, Crown Quay, Dice Quay, and Horner's Quay had once been. This project was underway when the fire destroyed the old structure.
The Fire. On 12 February 1814, the old Custom House building was destroyed by fire. The blaze resulted in the explosion of gunpowder and spirits stored within the facility. This event marked the end of the building's use at Sugar Quay, leading to the transition to the new site.
People involved
- David Laing · Architect of the new Custom House
Sources
- Custom House, City of London Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-28
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.