The Monument is the tallest isolated stone column in the world, and it was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London and to celebrate the rebuilding of the City. The Great Fire started in a baker’s house in Pudding Lane on Sunday 2 September 1666, and although there were few casualties, the fire caused severe damage to thousands of houses, hundreds of streets, the City’s gates, public buildings, and churches before it was finally extinguished on Wednesday 5 September 1666. As the City began to rebuild, it was decided that a permanent memorial should be erected near the location of the start of the Great Fire. Construction on the memorial began in 1671, and its design was by Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Dr. Robert Hooke, the City’s Surveyor. The fluted Doric column is constructed from Portland stone and is topped with a gilded urn of flames. The Monument stands 202 feet high, the exact distance between where it stands on Fish Hill to the site in Pudding Lane where the fire began. The column was completed in 1677, and visitors can still climb the 311 steps up the spiral staircase inside the column and step out onto a platform which offers spectacular panoramic views of the City.
- The Monument
- www.themonument.info
- Underground: Monument