The Monument

The Monument is far more than just a monument to the Great Fire of London. It is Zenith Telescope http://amhistory.si.edu/surveying/type.cfm?typeid=23 designed to discover solar parallax - but also providing lattitude measurement - in an attempt to provide a fixed point form which to survey the City of London. It also was used for experiments on gravity that were to lead to Hookes Law.

It lies on the site St Margaret's Church Fish Street Hill and is surrounded by the burial ground (though not really visible). It is still the tallest freestanding column in the world and marks the route from Old London Bridge (altered to the present site in the 19th century) and thus is a shadow of the City's former self. It is a landmark and a means of orientation for visitors even now. 

Stallholders at Billingsgate Market (c1910), a photo by Bishopsgate Institute on Flickr.

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 http://www.themonument.info/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_the_Great_Fire_of_London

http://www.themonument.info/panorama/Monument.html  Time lapse view from top