Coordinates: 51°30′37″N, 0°5′09″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

The Monument, London to commemorate the Great Fire of London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren

The viewing platform

The Monument seen from the ground

The Monument to the Fire of London, more commonly known as The Monument, is a 61-metre (202-foot) tall stone Roman doric column in the City of London, near to the northern end of London Bridge. It is located at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, 61-metre (202 feet) from where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. Monument tube station is named after The Monument. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (600 × 800 pixel, file size: 339 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (600 × 800 pixel, file size: 339 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1300x1571, 684 KB) The viewing platform on the Monument. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1300x1571, 684 KB) The viewing platform on the Monument. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1126x2237, 547 KB) A view of the Monument from the ground, London, England. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1126x2237, 547 KB) A view of the Monument from the ground, London, England. ... Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region Greater London Status sui generis, City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ... For other uses, see London Bridge (disambiguation). ... Detail of painting from 1666 of the Great Fire of London by an unknown artist, depicting the fire as it would have appeared on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf. ... 1666 is often called Annus Mirabilis. ... For the station called Monument on the Tyne and Wear Metro, see Monument Metro station Bank and Monument are interlinked stations, spanning the length of King William Street in the City of London. ...

It consists of a large fluted Doric column built of Portland stone topped with a gilded urn of fire, and was designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. The west side of the base of the Monument displays an emblematical sculpture, by Caius Gabriel Cibber, in alto and bas relief, of the destruction of the City; with King Charles II, and his brother, James, the Duke of York (later James II) surrounded by Liberty, Architecture, and Science, giving directions for its restoration. Its 61-metre height marks the monument's distance to the site of Thomas Farynor, the king's baker's shop in Pudding Lane, where the fire began. At the time of construction (between 1671 and 1677) it was the tallest freestanding stone column in the world. The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonic orders being the Ionic and the Corinthian. ... For other uses, see Column (disambiguation). ... The Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, England, is made from Portland stone Portland stone is limestone from the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. ... A gilded Tibetan Vajrasattva Gilding is the art of applying metal leaf (most commonly gold or silver leaf) to a surface. ... Maya funerary urn For the computing term, see Uniform Resource Name. ... For other uses, see Fire (disambiguation). ... Sir Christopher Wren, (20 October 1632–25 February 1723) was a 17th century English designer, astronomer, geometrician, and the greatest English architect of his time. ... Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ... An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... A sculpture is a three-dimensional object, which for the purposes of this article is man-made and selected for special recognition as art. ... Melancholy and Raving Madness Caius Gabriel Cibber (1630-1700) was a sculptor, and the father of Colley Cibber. ... Bas-relief (pronounced bah-relief, French for low relief) is a method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone or metal creating a sculpture portrayed as a picture. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ... James II of England (also known as James VII of Scotland; 14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) became King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland on 6 February 1685, and Duke of Normandy on 31 December 1660. ... Liberty is generally considered a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority. ... This article is about building architecture. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... The term direction can be applied to various topics. ... Pudding Lane looking northwards from the junction with Monument Street. ... Events May 9 - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. ... 1677 (MDCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Rock (disambiguation). ...

It is possible to reach the top of the monument by climbing up the narrow winding staircase of 311 steps. A cage (see picture) was added in the mid-19th century at the top of the Monument to prevent people jumping off, after six people had committed suicide between 1788 and 1842. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Three sides of the base of the monument carry inscriptions in Latin. The one on the south side describes actions taken by Charles II following the fire. The one on the east describes how the monument was started and brought to perfection, and under which mayors. The one on the north describes how the fire started, how much damage it caused, and how the fire was extinguished. In 1681 the words "but Popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched" were added to the end of the inscription. (The west side is described above.) The inscription on the east generally blames Roman Catholics for the fire, and this prompted Alexander Pope to say, of the area that it is where, For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Events March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. ... Inscriptions are words or letters written, engraved, painted, or otherwise traced on a surface and can appear in contexts both small and monumental. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Where London’s column, pointing at the skies,

Like a tall bully, lifts the head and lies." -- Moral Essays. Epistle iii. Line 339 (1733-1734).

The words were chiselled out in 1831. Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

History

The first Rebuilding Act, passed in 1669, stipulated that "the better to preserve the memory of this dreadful visitation", a column of either brass or stone should be set up on Fish Street Hill, on or near the site of Farryner's bakery, where the fire began. Wren, as Surveyor-General of the King's Works was asked to submit a design. It was not until 1671 that the City Council approved the design, and it was another six years before the 202-foot Monument was complete. It was two more years before the inscription, (which, had been left to Wren -- or to Wren's choice -- to decide upon) was set in place. "Commemorating -- with a brazen disregard for the truth -- the fact that 'London rises again...three short years complete that which was considered the work of ages.'"^[1] // Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ...

Surviving drawings show that several versions of the Monument were submitted for consideration: a plain obelisk, a column garnished with tongues of fire, and the fluted Doric column that was eventually chosen. The real contention came with the problem of what type of ornament would cap the Monument. Initially Wren favored a statue of a phoenix with outstretched wings rising from the ashes. As the Monument neared completion he decided instead on a 15-foot tall statue of either Charles II, or a sword-wielding female to represent a triumphant London; the cost of either running an estimated ₤1,050. King Charles himself preferred a simple copper-gilded ball "with flames sprouting from the top" costing little more than ₤325. But ultimately it was the design of a flaming gilt-bronze urn suggested by Robert Hooke that was decided upon. Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ...

The total cost for the Monument was ₤13,450 11s 9d., of which ₤11,300 was paid to the mason-contractor Joshua Marshall.^[2]

Trivia

Wren and Hooke built the Monument to double as a scientific instrument. It has a central shaft meant for use as a zenith telescope and for use in gravity and pendulum experiments that connects to an underground laboratory for observers to work (accessible from the present-day ticket booth). A hinged lid in the urn covers the opening to the shaft. The steps in the shaft of the tower are all apparently exactly 6 inches high, allowing them to be used for accurate barometric pressure studies. A zenith telescope is an instrument adapted for the measurement of small differences of zenith distance, and used in the determination of astronomic latitude. ...

Another monument, the Golden Boy of Pye Corner marks the point near Smithfield where the fire stopped. Golden Boy of Pye Corner The Golden Boy of Pye Corner is located on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane in Smithfield, London. ... Smithfield meat market from the south Smithfield is an area in the north-west part of the City of London (which is itself the historic core of a much larger London). ...

The area around the base of the Monument, Monument Street has been pedestrianised in a £790,000 street improvement scheme.[1][2]

The Monument is currently closed from July 30, 2007 for an 18 month, £4.5 million refurbishment project.^[3] is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Gallery

The Monument seen from the high-level walkway on Tower Bridge Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2000x1418, 618 KB) The Monument seen from the high-level walkway on Tower Bridge. ...	The west side of the base of the Monument base of the monument to the great fire of london . ...	The east side of the Monument, with the entrance. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x1951, 757 KB) The base of the Great Fire of London Monument, London, England. ...	The east side of the Monument from across Pudding Lane Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 398 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2000 × 3008 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Views published in The Graphic, 1891. Image File history File linksMetadata Monument_The_Graphic_1891. ... The Graphic was first published on 4 December 1869. ...	311 step stairwell Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixelsFull resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 3 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 311 step stairwell inside Monument to the Great Fire of London photographed by Artybrad. ...

In fiction

The Monument is a Prominent Setting in System of the World, the 3rd book in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. The System of the World, a novel by Neal Stephenson, forms the third volume in The Baroque Cycle. ... Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of society, mathematics, currency, and the history of science. ... The Baroque Cycle is a series of books written by Neal Stephenson and published in 2003 and 2004. ...

See also

• History of London
• On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Career of Sir Christopher Wren (ISBN 0-00-710775-7 hardback, ISBN 0-00-710776-5 paperback)

London has a recorded history that goes back over 2,000 years. ...

References

Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region Greater London Status sui generis, City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• City of London Monument page
• Website dedicated to the Monument and the 2007 - 2008 restoration project
• Michael Pead :: Photos of the City of London - includes a panoramic view from the top of The Monument.
• 360 Panorama of the Monument