The London 1666 artwork is the creation of David Best, a San Franciscan artist who’s renowned for his temples at the Burning Man festivals in Nevada. With the help of volunteers, David builds vast wooden structures and ignites them.

His creations aren’t overtly religious, but they’re intensely spiritual. “I’m not a modern artist,” he says. “My work comes from an older place.”

Artist David Best

David’s first temple was a memorial to a friend who’d died in a motorbike accident. His subsequent temples have become cathartic places for countless people, who’ve travelled to Burning Man events from all around the world.

Most of David’s temples have been built (and burnt) in America, but last year British company Artichoke, who specialise in staging large outdoor arts events, asked him to create a temple in Londonderry.

Constructed by local Protestants and Catholics, it became a shared space in a city where bonfires are usually strictly sectarian. “It was extraordinary,” says Artichoke’s director, Helen Marriage. “Sixty thousand people came.”

After his success in Derry, Marriage invited Best to come to England, to build a replica of Jacobean London for this week’s London’s Burning festival.

Why burn it on the Thames? Well, if you want to set fire to something this big in the City of London, there’s really not much choice. “There aren’t many large open spaces,” says Helen. “The river offers the best vista.”

It’s also the finest stage. To see this cityscape light up the river will be an unforgettable spectacle. “David’s designs are beautiful,” says Helen. “He has a particular style – a sort of filigree, fretworky style which really lends itself to this representation of the 17th-century London skyline.”