A huge Doric column with an urn on top around which flames are playing, the Monument was built between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of London (1666) which began just 62 metres away from it (this distance is exactly the height of the column). A staircase up the shaft leads to the upper platform which boasts a view over London and the Thames, which is much reduced these days by the presence of numerous high-rise buildings.