| This Roman Doric column with a flaming urn at the top was erected by Parliament to commemorate the Great Fire, which began on September 2, 1666 and in four days destroyed more than 80% of the City, including almost a hundred churches, most of the public buildings, and hundreds of streets with thousands of houses. | ||
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The Portland stone column is 202 feet tall, the distance east from its base to the spot where the actual fire started in Pudding Lane. The Monument is at the intersection of Monument Street and Fish Street. |
The relief on the square pedestal by Caius Gabriel Cibber | ||
| The relief depicts a personification of London grieving while Time lifts her up. Behind her buildings are in flame. Peace and Prosperity are in the clouds, a promise of the renewal of London. Charles II in armor is on the right. | 
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See Ann Saunders' The Art and Architecture of London (London: Phaidon, 2000; 89) for a fuller description of the Monument.
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