On the night of 29 December 1940 , during the Blitz of central London in the Second World War , the church was gutted by fire-bombs dropped by the '' Luftwaffe '' . That night 1,500 fires were started , including three major conflagrations , leading to a fire storm , an event dubbed the '' Second Great Fire of London '' , due to the enormous amount of damage caused . St Paul 's Cathedral itself was only saved by the dedication of the London firemen who kept the fire away from the cathedral and the volunteer firewatchers of the St Paul 's Watch who fought to keep the flames from firebombs on the roof from spreading . After the war , St Bride 's was rebuilt at the expense of newspaper proprietors and journalists
Second Great Fire of London
Second Great Fire of London
St Bride's Church