Look at the gilded urn on top of the column: those are flames. In front of you is the Monument, London's memorial in stone to the Great Fire. In the early hours of 2 September 1666, fire broke out in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane, a few steps from here. Fanned by an east wind and fed by tightly packed timber houses, it burned for four days.

1A city wiped out

By the time it was finally out, the fire had destroyed some 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and old St Paul's Cathedral. The recorded deaths were few, though historians believe there were more than were ever written down. The fire changed London: the city was rebuilt in brick and stone, and the fire insurance business was born.

2A column with exact measurements

It was designed by Christopher Wren and the scientist Robert Hooke, and built between 1671 and 1677. It stands 202 feet tall, about 61 metres, the same as its distance from the site of the bakery. Hooke also conceived it as a scientific instrument, with a central shaft for experiments. Inside, a spiral staircase of 311 steps climbs to the top.

“Where London's column, pointing at the skies, / Like a tall bully, lifts the head, and lies.” Alexander Pope

Pope was mocking an inscription added in 1681 that blamed the fire on Catholics. It was finally removed in 1830.

3What to look for

  • The urn of gilded flames at the top.
  • The relief on the west face, showing Charles II coming to the city's aid.
  • Pudding Lane, the street that runs down towards the river on your right.
Relief on the base of the Monument
Charles II, in Roman dress, comes to the aid of the ruined city.
Painting of the Great Fire of London of 1666
Anonymous 17th-century painting: the fire seen from the river, with old London Bridge on the left and the Tower on the right.

Documented

The fire began on 2 September 1666 in Thomas Farriner's bakery; the Monument, by Wren and Hooke, was built between 1671 and 1677, and the anti-Catholic inscription of 1681 was removed in 1830.

Sources and credits

The Monument to the Great Fire of London (City of London Corporation), official website; Museum of London, “The Great Fire of London”; Alexander Pope, “Epistle to Bathurst” (1733); Adrian Tinniswood, “By Permission of Heaven” (2003).

Photos:

  • The Monument to the Great Fire of London, with its gilded urn of flames: Eluveitie, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • Relief on the base of the Monument: Andy Li, CC0.
  • Painting of the Great Fire of London of 1666: Artista desconocido, Dominio público.

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