That’s all it’s called. With 311 steps, it is 202 feet tall because it is 202 feet from the base to where the Great Fire of London started in 1666 (the King’s baker’s shop, Thomas Farynor’s in Pudding Lane) is located near where the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed between 70,000 to 100,000 homes after a fire that lasted 5 days. . Following the plague of 1665 -1666 which took 100,000 lives London was shaken. For a great read of that time check out the Diaries of Samuel Pepys. He was a navy administrator and therefore was in the know so to speak.
The 1660’s were not kind to London.
It follows a design by Christopher Wren, builder of St. Paul’s Cathedral and much more. If I had known it would require conquering 311 spiraled steps, I might of passed. The height of the tower is the exact distance as the base is from where the fire started in Pudding Row.
But the views make the slog well worth it although I kept thinking of Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” for I was sure I’d die before reaching the top!
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