The London Stone

Landmark in The City
The London Stone image
Address
90 Cannon Street, The City, EC4N 6HA
Category
Landmarks
Region
The City
Nearest Station
Cannon Street
0.06 miles

The London stone generally is overlooked by the hordes of City workers that rush past it every day. Lodged into the side of the Chinese Overseas Bank (Cannon Street), it far from being obvious that this stone is one of the oldest and most historic relicts of London.
In 1742 it was relocated (because it was an obstacle to Cannon Street’s traffic) to the wall of St. Swithin’s Church. Remarkably it was the only thing that survived the German bombing of 1941, the rest of the church being destroyed completely.
The stone is said to date back as much as 3000 years although there are different stories and myths about its creation and purpose. According to one story, it is a relict from Roman times and was installed around 50 AD. The stone’s symbolic powers made it an ideal spot for starting rebellions: in 1450 a Kentish Irishman called John Mortimer was fed up with Henry IV’s ludicrously high taxes he got himself a little troop and made for the stone where he pronounced himself Lord Major.
The stone also drew attention to many other people, such as Queen Elisabeth’s ‘Merlin’ John Dee or writers such as Shakespeare or Blake.
Nowadays, the stone is not only largely unnoticed by the public, but also scorned by museums. Most people do not believe it is a relict from Roman times since there is no evidence, the first time it has been mentioned was in a book in the early 10th century.

The London Stone Picture Gallery

The London Stone Picture

User Reviews

Anonymous

Sep 8, 2008

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