The Monument was designed by
Christopher Wren, built on the orders of
Charles II to commemorate the dead of the
Great Fire of London in
1666, and completed in 1677. A tall, thin column of stone, it was the tallest building in the world at the time. (It's still the tallest free standing stone
column in the world.) The 202
foot height matches the distance from its base to the point where the fire first started, on
Pudding Lane. It's built on the site of one of the 89
churches destroyed in the fire.
After the wooden buildings of
London were consumed in the flames (around 80 per cent in the area), there was a great wave of optimism. Not only had the last traces of the
plague been cleared away, but now there was the chance to rebuild the city in
brick and stone, and build streets that were more open, less cram-jammed in on top of each other. The carvings on the bottom of the Monument reflect this.
With 400 steps to the top and no
elevator, it's an effort to climb on a summer's day, panting and sweating to the top, but worth it for the slice of
view between the buildings. Only costs a
quid or thereabouts to go in. And the way it catches the sunlight, and all the gold glitters and shines at the top is a mad surprise between the serious
City buildings that swarm around it.
note: the
Circle and
District Line tube station at monument is not at all close to the
Central Line one at
Bank, whatever the tubemap indicates.