The Monument

The Monument to the Great Fire

The elegant Portland stone column was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke to commemorate the fire of 1666, which engulfed much of the city.
The Monument is the tallest isolated stone column in the world, towering above the city at 202ft (61m) and has a spiral staircase with 311 steps leading to the observation platform.

It is located at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill 202ft (61m) from the spot in Pudding Lane where the Great Fire is thought to have started.
Repairs to The Monument are carried out roughly every hundred years, with work last undertaken in 1888.

Memorial. The Great Fire of London began in the early morning hours of September, 2nd 1666 in the Pudding Lane house of Thomas Farynor, a baker to the king. A maid in the house became the first fatality of the conflagration. The fire spread rapidly through the city of wood and thatch under the impetus of a strong east wind. By eight o'clock that morning, the fire had spread halfway across London Bridge. The fire brigades had no success in containing the fire with buckets of water. The standard fire fighting tactic of destroying the buildings in the path of the flames, creating fire-breaks, were delayed by the indecisiveness of the Lord Mayor. By the time a Royal command for the fire breaks was passed it was far too late for them to be effective against the firestorm. The flames pushed north on Monday into the heart of the City, and on Tuesday, spread over most of the City destroying St. Paul's Cathedral and jumping the River Fleet to threaten Whitehall; flames destroyed Gracechurch Street, Lombard Street, and the Royal Exchange, and halted near Temple Church before it suddenly flared to life again, continuing towards Westminster. Eventually the strong east winds died down, turned south and blew the fire onto itself and into the river. Gunpowder was used to create more effective firebreaks which halted further spread eastward. Sources record only minimal loss of life, officially less than twenty, though that has been disputed, but the magnitude of the property loss was staggering. As much as 80% of the city was destroyed, including over 13,000 houses, 89 churches, and 52 Guild Halls.

Silvia A, Marta L & Laura M 1^st bat C