An authentic Egyptian obelisk brought to London from Heliopolis, and erected on Victoria Embankment in 1878. The obelisk is one of a pair, the other being erected in Paris. Unlike many Egyptian treasures that found their way to England, Cleopatra's Needle was not removed from Egypt by British nobility, but rather it was granted to the UK government by Muhammad Ali, ruler of Egypt and Sudan, in 1819, to commemorate British victories at the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Alexandria.
Victoria Embankment,
London,
Greater London,
England
This gilded statue of a cherub, set into the side of a building, marks the furthest extent of the Great Fire of London in 1666. Aside from the historical significance of the Golden Boy, what really makes the statue fascinating are the inscriptions that are carved below it. Directly underneath the statue is a short inscription reading, "This Boy is in Memory Put up for the late Fire of London, Ocassion'd by the Sin of Gluttony, 1666."
Giltspur Street,
London,
Greater London,
England, EC1A 9DD
Temple Bar is the last surviving gateway to the City of London. It used to stand across Fleet Street, but is now at the entry to Paternoster Square, behind St Paul's Cathedral. The Bar dates to at least 1293, when it gave access to the area now known as 'Temple', the home of legal London. That early Bar was likely no more than a chain across the road, but around 1400 this was replaced by a timber gatehouse topped by a prison.
Paternoster Square, St Paul's Churchyard London,
Greater London,
England, EC4M 8AD
