40 min
The Monument – Join Me At One Of The City Of London’s Most Outstanding Landmarks Designed By Sir Christopher Wren To Commemorate The Great Fire Of London + Competition! Your London Legacy
-
- Places & Travel
Hello all you London Legacy Lovers, wherever in the world you are listening. Today I’ve got a real treat for you. At the end of this week’s brilliant episode I’ll be giving you the chance to win a pair of tickets to one of the most iconic landmarks in the City of London-The Monument. All you have to do is listen to the show and then follow the simple instructions that I’ll be giving—and one lucky pair will be following in the exact footsteps of Sir Christopher Wren. The tickets have been donated to Your London Legacy on behalf of The Monument and naturally we would like to give them a massive shout out right here.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London is best known simply as The Monument and situated near the northern end of London Bridge. In this week’s fascinating episode, I had the pleasure of being taken around and up to the top of this stunning 62-meter column by the excellent friendly and accommodating City of London Guide and Welcome Host Richard Smith. Not only did we get our very own private tour, but we were also taken to a ‘secret’ part of The Monument, not normally open to the public, so we feel really very privileged indeed.
So—settle down and follow us as we wander around a true piece of London history, and don’t forget to listen to the end to win yourself a free pair of tickets, so you too can experience this this true London gem.
This Your London Legacy.
“The Monument is 202 feet, 61 and a half meters tall – and the reason for that is that’s the exact distance from where the fires started.”
4:00
The Monument is built on the site of the first church that burned during the fire—one of many details that all stack together to make this a stunning feat of art and architecture. After you enter you’ll see font from the original church – and there are also names inscribed on the front door, six Lord Mayors of London who presided during the Monument’s construction. But also Sir Robert Viner—the King’s goldsmith who recreated the crown jewels, funded the monarchy, and also had some strange keepsakes you may hear about.
“The city was compacted—and it was only one year after the great plague where about one third of the population died.”
15:40
After 311 steps you’ll find yourself with a full view of the city—a breathtaking site. The urn at the very top is gilded with gold leaf to represent the flames that burnt the city, but the Monument itself also served as a scientific instrument. Robert Hook, a 'criminally' unknown scientist and one of the founding members of the Royal Society,put in for the Monument to be a scientific instrument—being able to do pressure and pendulum experiments inside it, and it was also used as a telescope. Hook would lay down in the basement and watch through lenses all the way up the chamber.
30:20
The basement itself is actually a secret laboratory—and I had the privilege of going down a trap door to enter it. There are lots of Roman terracotta bricks that were used to construct its dome after the fire as they were plentiful in the rubble. It’s not open to the public but is certainly one of the great hidden places of London with a view all the way up to stars.
Competition at End of Show
Ok so I hope you really enjoyed today's episode as we went back in time to a period just after the great fire of London and walked in the footsteps of the legendary Sir Christopher Wren. If you want to take in the breathtaking views of London from the top of this stunning piece of classic London architecture, then all you have to do is go to http://www.yourlondonlegacy.com (www.yourlondonlegacy.com) and scroll down to the bottom. Simply add your name and email address, and one luck winner, will win a pair of tickets to The Monument. The tickets are open ended without an expiry date, so you have plenty of time to book in your visit. The winner will be drawn at random by me one month after the date this episode goes live, so don’t forget to provide
Hello all you London Legacy Lovers, wherever in the world you are listening. Today I’ve got a real treat for you. At the end of this week’s brilliant episode I’ll be giving you the chance to win a pair of tickets to one of the most iconic landmarks in the City of London-The Monument. All you have to do is listen to the show and then follow the simple instructions that I’ll be giving—and one lucky pair will be following in the exact footsteps of Sir Christopher Wren. The tickets have been donated to Your London Legacy on behalf of The Monument and naturally we would like to give them a massive shout out right here.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London is best known simply as The Monument and situated near the northern end of London Bridge. In this week’s fascinating episode, I had the pleasure of being taken around and up to the top of this stunning 62-meter column by the excellent friendly and accommodating City of London Guide and Welcome Host Richard Smith. Not only did we get our very own private tour, but we were also taken to a ‘secret’ part of The Monument, not normally open to the public, so we feel really very privileged indeed.
So—settle down and follow us as we wander around a true piece of London history, and don’t forget to listen to the end to win yourself a free pair of tickets, so you too can experience this this true London gem.
This Your London Legacy.
“The Monument is 202 feet, 61 and a half meters tall – and the reason for that is that’s the exact distance from where the fires started.”
4:00
The Monument is built on the site of the first church that burned during the fire—one of many details that all stack together to make this a stunning feat of art and architecture. After you enter you’ll see font from the original church – and there are also names inscribed on the front door, six Lord Mayors of London who presided during the Monument’s construction. But also Sir Robert Viner—the King’s goldsmith who recreated the crown jewels, funded the monarchy, and also had some strange keepsakes you may hear about.
“The city was compacted—and it was only one year after the great plague where about one third of the population died.”
15:40
After 311 steps you’ll find yourself with a full view of the city—a breathtaking site. The urn at the very top is gilded with gold leaf to represent the flames that burnt the city, but the Monument itself also served as a scientific instrument. Robert Hook, a 'criminally' unknown scientist and one of the founding members of the Royal Society,put in for the Monument to be a scientific instrument—being able to do pressure and pendulum experiments inside it, and it was also used as a telescope. Hook would lay down in the basement and watch through lenses all the way up the chamber.
30:20
The basement itself is actually a secret laboratory—and I had the privilege of going down a trap door to enter it. There are lots of Roman terracotta bricks that were used to construct its dome after the fire as they were plentiful in the rubble. It’s not open to the public but is certainly one of the great hidden places of London with a view all the way up to stars.
Competition at End of Show
Ok so I hope you really enjoyed today's episode as we went back in time to a period just after the great fire of London and walked in the footsteps of the legendary Sir Christopher Wren. If you want to take in the breathtaking views of London from the top of this stunning piece of classic London architecture, then all you have to do is go to http://www.yourlondonlegacy.com (www.yourlondonlegacy.com) and scroll down to the bottom. Simply add your name and email address, and one luck winner, will win a pair of tickets to The Monument. The tickets are open ended without an expiry date, so you have plenty of time to book in your visit. The winner will be drawn at random by me one month after the date this episode goes live, so don’t forget to provide
40 min