Where: 111 Cannon Street
Blink and you'll miss it, but a Portland Stone enclosure set in the wall at 111 Cannon Street houses what is allegedly the oldest London object: a stone. While that doesn't sound very exciting at first, the stone is shrouded in mystery. Also known as the Brutus Stone, according to one myth it was brought to London by a Trojan prince called Brutus, who later had a successor called King Lud, where the capital got its name from (Lud - Lud's Town - London).
Meanwhile the artist and mystic William Blake believed it was part of an altar for sacrifices used by the Druids. There are other accounts that it was a main site for making announcements and recovering debts. Whatever its previous use, the London Stone was an important landmark in the Medieval era, appearing on maps and even making its way into Shakespeare's play King Henry VI. If stones could talk...
