Monument (The) (London, England) : Base, detail of the relief on the west side (Charles II restoring the city after the Great Fire of 1666)

Creator:

Hooke, Robert, 1635-1703
Wren, Christopher, 1632-1723

Published/Created:

Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, London, England, United Kingdom
1671-1677

Physical Description:

202 ft (height)

Date Depicted:

1500 AD - 1699 AD

Materials:

gilt bronze
Portland stone

Notes:

As part of the rebuilding, it was decided to erect a permanent memorial of the Great Fire near the place where it began. Sir Christopher Wren, Surveyor General to King Charles II and his friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Hooke, provided a design for a colossal Doric column in the antique tradition. They drew up plans for a column containing a cantilevered stone staircase of 311 steps leading to a viewing platform. This was surmounted by a drum and a copper urn from which flames emerged, symbolising the Great Fire. The Monument, as it came to be called, is 61 metres high (202 feet) - the exact distance between it and the site in Pudding Lane where the fire began. It consists of a pedestal about 21 feet square and 40 feet high, with a plinth 28 feet square, and a fluted shaft 120 feet high and 15 feet in diameter; on the abacus is a balcony encompassing a moulded cylinder, which supports a flaming urn or vase of gilt bronze, symbolizing the Fire. The quantity of Portland stone contained in the column, as estimated by the architect, is 28,196 cubic feet.

Variant Titles:

Monument to the Great Fire of London

Topics:

Architecture -- Britain -- 17th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Neoclassical
Seventeenth century

Culture:

British

Accession Number:

1A1-WC-M-B6

Genre:

architecture (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

allegorical; death or burial; historical; rulers and leaders; Charles II, King of England, 1630-1685; Great Fire, London, England, 1666 construction built works; monuments; memorial columns

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Four

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10105415

PID:

digcoll:1820849