nine o'clock
Indeed , it was visible at Hampstead while it was yet daylight . When darkness set in , one of the most extraordinary scenes that London ever produced was witnessed . From all quarters the people came pouring in , on foot , in omnibus , cab , pleasure-van , cart , and waggon -- all converging to London Bridge . At nine o'clock the bridge and its approaches presented all the appearance of the Epsom Road on the Derby Day . Cabs and ` buses plied backwards and forwards on the bridge all night , carrying an unlimited number of passengers at 2 pence and 3 pence each , and thousands of persons spent the night in thus passing to and fro . The railway terminus , Billingsgate Market , the roof of the Coal Exchange , the Monument , the quays , the windows , the house-tops , the steeples , and the chimney-stalks -- all were crowded with human beings , whose eager upturned faces were rendered intensely bright against the surrounding darkness by the fierce glare of the fire . But the Thames presented the most singular appearance of all -- now reflecting on its bosom the inky black clouds of smoke ; anon the red flames , as fresh fuel was licked up by the devouring element , and , occasionally , sheets of silver light that flashed through the chaos when sulphur and saltpetre explosions occurred .