This week, a recent episode of QI has been lighting up social media feeds. In the viral clip, contestants confidently shout “Pudding Lane!” when asked where the Great Fire of London began – only to be told they’re wrong. The revelation that the fire actually started 60 feet away on what is now Monument Street has left viewers stunned.
But here’s what makes this story even more special for Putney: the historian behind this earth-shaking discovery lives right here in our neighbourhood.
Meet Dorian Gerhold: Putney’s historical detective
Dr Dorian Gerhold is an independent historian who was formerly a House of Commons Clerk, and he lives in Putney. But don’t let that modest description fool you – this man has been quietly rewriting British history from his local base.
In 2016, while researching buildings erected in London before 1720, Gerhold uncovered a 1679 survey of Thomas Farriner’s bakery site within the London Metropolitan Archives. Cross-referencing this with later maps, he discovered that the baker’s oven where the Great Fire first flamed stood 60 feet east of Pudding Lane, on what is now Monument Street.
“I assumed it was known. It was only later when I tried to check it that I realised that no one else knew,” Gerhold modestly explained when his discovery was first published.
A prolific local author with distinguished credentials
Gerhold is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, and a member of the Council of the London Topographical Society. He has written about carriers and stage-coaches, industrial history, Westminster Hall, London’s suburban villas, urban cartography, Chancery records and Putney.
His most recent book is London Bridge and its Houses, c. 1209-1761, which tells the story of the extraordinary structure that was home to over 500 people, perched above the rushing waters of the Thames, and was one of the city’s main shopping streets. Using newly-discovered evidence, Gerhold reconstructed the plan of the bridge and houses in the seventeenth century, traced the history of each house back through rentals and a survey to 1358, and showed how the houses and their occupants changed during five and half centuries.
But for Putney residents, his local works are treasure troves. Putney and Roehampton Past is described by one Amazon reviewer as “a real treat for anyone in Putney. Absolutely fascinating insight into the old houses and structure of Putney… The tenacious attention to detail is just superb as are the archive of old photos, land deed information and maps.”
Written by this knowledgeable architectural historian, this graceful history describes the key influences on Putney, namely London and the Thames. One brought trade, especially for market gardens, and the building of country villas and mansions for rich people. The latter provided employment for the watermen.
A deep dive into Putney’s past
Gerhold hasn’t just written one book about our area – he’s produced a whole library of local history. His works include:
- Putney and Roehampton in 1665: A Street Directory and Guide – examining the impact of the metropolis, the Thames and the plague of 1665 on the community, providing a more detailed picture of the parish and its people than is possible for any other period before the nineteenth century
- Putney in 1636 – Nicholas Lane’s Map – using contemporary maps to understand our area centuries ago
- Various works on local transport history, including the carriers and stage-coaches that once connected Putney to the wider world
Why you should visit Putney Library
All these fascinating insights into our local area are waiting for you at Putney Library. Gerhold’s meticulous research reveals stories about the people who walked these streets centuries ago, the grand houses that once dotted our landscape, and the Thames-side industries that shaped our community.
Gerhold continues a proud tradition of local historical scholarship. We recently lost Philip Evison, who died in July, edited the Putney Society bulletin and was known for his detailed research and famous local history quizzes. The tradition stretches back to earlier historians like Ernest Dixon, who in the 1920s rescued and preserved the historic Roehampton Mounting Block, and G.W.C. Green, whose The Story of Wandsworth and Putney explored local legends including rumoured underground tunnels connecting sites across the Thames.
From Pudding Lane to Putney Pride
So the next time you’re watching QI and feeling smug about knowing your history, remember that sometimes the most significant discoveries happen right in your own backyard. Thanks to Dorian Gerhold’s patient archival detective work, we now know that the Great Fire began on what is now the cobbled surface of Monument Street, named for the Monument to the Great Fire standing nearby – not on Pudding Lane as generations believed.
It’s a reminder that history isn’t just about accepting what we’ve always been told. Sometimes it takes a local historian, working quietly in archives and cross-referencing centuries-old documents, to uncover truths that have been hiding in plain sight for 350 years.
And the best part? He’s been doing this groundbreaking work from right here in Putney, proving that you don’t need to be in a grand university to make discoveries that capture the nation’s attention.
Pop into Putney Library and explore Dorian Gerhold’s works – you might just discover something amazing about the streets you walk every day.
