PIN Cleopatra`s Needle

A needle with a lot of history

The banks of the Thames holds many secrets that we walk past every day - and Cleopatras Needle has a few of its own. The `Needle` is actually an Egyptian obelisk that was created over thousands of years ago from the reign of 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose III when London was just a primitive settlement by the side of the River Thames. It remained in Alexandria, Egypt until October 1877 when it was transported to London at the expense of William James Erasmus Wilson.

History

The Needle was erected in 1878 at its current location and they buried a time capsule under the pedestal containing interesting pieces, newspapers, various objects of daily use, a miniature version of the obelisk, and 12 photos of the most beautiful English of this period. In 1917 during the first air raid on London a bomb was dropped near the monument and visitors can still see the impact on the base of the needle and the Sphinxes that surround it.

TripTide Thoughts

The inscrutable Sphinx never changes.

How to get there

Take the Northern/District/Circle line to Embankment and a 4 minutes walk or take the Bakerloo line to Waterloo and a five minute walk over the bridge.

Owner

sebastian soler

Hi I am Sebastian - a french student on an internship in London for TripTide. I love music, movies and history - and London. My Home Town is Nice in France. ...