The Monument to the Great Fire of London

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren (architect of the 51 city structures, including the iconic St. Paul's Cathedral), the monument was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. It offers one of the best views of London while learning about an important moment in London's history. 

Standing 202 feet high and 202 feet from the spot on Pudding Lane where the Great Fire is thought to have started, The Monument to the Great Fire of London is the tallest isolated stone column in the world. All visitors who climb the 311 steps are awarded a certificate to prove they reached the top.

This monument in London commemorates one of the most significant events in the city’s history - the Great Fire of London. When the fire spread from Thomas Farynor’s bakery at 2AM on Sunday 2nd September 1666, more than 86% of London was razed to the ground and 130,000 people lost their homes in what was later called the Great Fire of London. 

It had been a dry summer. This combined with the fact that most London homes at that time were made of wood and built close together with overhanging upper floors meant that the fire that started at Farynor’s bakery would move quickly and be difficult to stop. Strong eastern winds fanned the flames, carrying embers across the city.

With no organized firefighting measures in place, the city residents fled to the river where they bundled their possessions onto boats or ventured to fields outside London where they set up makeshift shelters. Buckets of water, primitive water squirts, and basic fire hooks were the only tools available to try to tame the raging firestorm that leaped between houses.

The Lord Mayor Sir Thomas Bloodworth was slow to react and downplayed the seriousness of the fire at first. After sweeping through the city center on a path of destruction for nearly four days, the fire finally died out when the winds changed direction and drove the flames into previously burnt-out areas.

Over 13,000 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and most of the buildings of the City of London were destroyed in the blaze. However, amazingly only 16 people were known to have died.

After the fire, Sir Christopher Wren was appointed surveyor to plan the rebuilding of the city. Reconstruction began immediately, with new buildings made of brick and stone rather than wood. Wren also submitted designs for rebuilding the destroyed St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The monument is a reminder of this devastating but defining event in London's history. Over 230,000 visitors climb the monument's 311 spiral steps each year to take in the sweeping panorama of London, once scorched, since risen from the ashes. Dr. Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren joined forces to create the monument, which took six years to complete. It opened to the public in 1677.