LONDON, THE MONUMENT TO THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON

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The Monument is a column in London built by St Christopher Wren, which commemorates the Great Fire Of London. This fire was one of the greatest disasters that the City Of London has ever known. It started on Sunday 2nd September 1666 and lasted for five days. Thousands of homes in hundreds of streets in and around the city, were destroyed together with key public buildings, including St Pauls Cathedral and over 87 churches. Approximately 100,000 people were made homeless. Yet despite the scale of the disaster, only six deaths were officialy recorded.  It can be found at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, the nearest underground station is of course Monument. The top of the Monument is reached by a narrow winding staircase of 311 steps.  This is the view from the bottom.

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A mesh cage was added in the mid-19th century at the top to prevent people jumping off, after six people had committed suicide from the structure between 1788 and 1842.

Monument Top

View Monument

Its on the spot in Pudding Lane. where the Great Fire started. Constructed between 1671 and 1677, it is the tallest isolated stone column in the world and was built on the site of St Margaret’s Fish Street, the first church to be burned down by the Great Fire. Another monument, the Golden Boy Of Pye Corner, marks the point near Smithfield, where the fire was stopped.

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This is a picture of how much was lost in London due to Great Fire – you just can’t imagine it really.

Great Fire Map

This is something you should visit at least once. The view is amazing, all visitor information can be found here

My ticket was complimentary courtesy of Kallaway.com but all views are my own.

 

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