The Monument

The monument, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built to commemorate the great fire of London (1666) which burned for three days consuming more than 13,000 houses and devastating 436 acres of the city. The Monument is 202ft in height, being equal to the distance westward from the bakehouse in Pudding Lane where the fire broke out. It took six years to construct. The balcony is reached by a spiral stairway of 311 steps and affords panoramic views of the metropolis. A superstructure rises from the balcony and supports a copper vase of flames. The allegorical sculpture on the pedestal abvove was executed by Caius Gabriel Cibber. In 1842 the viewing platform was entirely enclosed with iron railings after the Monument became a notorious place for suicides.