Charing Cross
Charing Cross | |
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Eleanor Cross in the then hamlet of Charing, an important junction since the middle ages. | |
Location within Greater London | |
OS grid reference | TQ302804 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | WC2 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Charing Cross (pronounced /ˈtʃærɪŋ/ CHA-ring)[1] is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. Clockwise from north, the routes that meet at Charing Cross are the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; Northumberland Avenue leading to the Thames Embankment; Whitehall leading to Parliament Square; The Mall leading to Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace; and two short roads leading to Pall Mall.
Historically, the name was derived from the hamlet of Charing ('Riverbend') that occupied the area of this important road junction in the middle ages, together with the grand
A bronze equestrian statue of Charles I, erected in 1675, stands on a high plinth, situated roughly where the medieval monumental cross (the 'Charing Cross') had previously stood for 353 years (since its construction in 1294) until destroyed in 1647 by the revolutionary government of Oliver Cromwell. The famously beheaded King, appearing ascendant, is the work of French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur. Charing Cross is marked on contemporary maps as the road junction around the statue's traffic island, though it is also a thoroughfare in postal addresses: Drummonds Bank, on the corner with The Mall, retains the address 49 Charing Cross and 1-4 Charing Cross continues to exist.[2][3] The name previously applied to the whole stretch of road between Great Scotland Yard and Trafalgar Square, but since 1 January 1931 most of this section of road has been designated part of the 'Whitehall' thoroughfare.[4]
History
Location and etymology
Erect a rich and stately carved cross,
Whereon her statue shall with glory shine;
And henceforth see you call it Charing Cross.—Famous Chronicle of King Edward the First(1593)
The name of the lost hamlet, Charing, is derived from the Old English word cierring, a river bend, in this case thus meaning: in the Thames.[5][6][7]
The suffix "Cross" refers to the
The stone cross was the work of the medieval sculptor,
Since 1675 the site of the cross has been occupied by a statue of King Charles I mounted on a horse. The site is recognised by modern convention as the centre of London for determining distances (whether geodesically or by road network) in preference to other measurement points (such as St Paul's Cathedral which remains the root of the English and Welsh part of the Great Britain road numbering scheme). Charing Cross is marked on modern maps as a road junction, and was used in street numbering for the section of Whitehall between Great Scotland Yard and Trafalgar Square. Since 1 January 1931 this segment has more logically and officially become the northern end of Whitehall.[13]
The rebuilding of a monument to resemble the one lost under Cromwell's low church Britain took place in 1864 in Britain's main era of medieval revivalism.
The cross, having been revived, gave its name to a railway station, a tube station, a police station, a hospital, a hotel, a theatre, and a music hall (which had lain beneath the arches of the railway station). Charing Cross Road, the main route from the north (which became the east side of Trafalgar Square), was named after the railway station, itself a major destination for traffic, rather than after the original cross.[15]
St Mary Rounceval
At some time between 1232 and 1236, the Chapel and Hospital of St Mary Rounceval was founded at Charing. It occupied land at the corner of the modern Whitehall and into the centre of
In 1608–09, the Earl of Northampton built Northumberland House on the eastern portion of the property. In June 1874, the duke's property at Charing Cross was purchased by the Metropolitan Board of Works for the formation of Northumberland Avenue.[17]
The frontage of the Rounceval property caused the narrowing at the end of the Whitehall entry to Charing Cross, and formed the section of Whitehall formerly known as Charing Cross, until road widening in the 1930s caused the rebuilding of the south side of the street which created a wide thoroughfare.[16]
Battle
In 1554, Charing Cross was the site of the final battle of
The palace was defended by 1000 men under Sir John Gage at Charing Cross; they retreated within Whitehall after firing their shot, causing consternation within, thinking the force had changed sides. The rebels – themselves fearful of artillery on the higher ground around St James's – did not press their attack and marched on to Ludgate, where they were met by the Tower Garrison and surrendered.[12]
Civil war removal
The Eleanor Cross was pulled down, by order of Parliament, in 1647, at the time of the English Civil War, becoming the subject of a popular Royalist ballad:
Methinks the common-council shou'd
Of it have taken pity,
'Cause, good old cross, it always stood
So firmly in the city.
Since crosses you so much disdain,
Faith, if I were you,
For fear the King should rule again,
I'd pull down Tiburn too.— Extract from "The Downfall of Charing Cross"[18]
At
A prominent
A major London coaching inn, the "Golden Cross" – first mentioned in 1643 – faced this junction. From here, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, coaches linked variously terminuses of:
"Heads, heads – take care of your heads", cried the loquacious stranger as they came out under the low archway which in those days formed the entrance to the coachyard. "Terrible place – dangerous work – other day – five children – mother – tall lady, eating sandwiches – forgot the arch – crash – knock – children look round – mother's head off – sandwich in her hand – no mouth to put it in – head of family off."
The story echoes an accident of 11 April 1800, when the Chatham and Rochester coach was emerging from the gateway of the Golden Cross, and "a young woman, sitting on the top, threw her head back, to prevent her striking against the beam; but there being so much luggage on the roof of the coach as to hinder her laying herself sufficiently back, it caught her face, and tore the flesh in a dreadful manner."[23]
The inn and its yard, pillory, and what remained of the Royal Mews, made way for
Replacement
The railway station opened in 1864, fronted on the
Official use as central point
By the late 18th century, the Charing Cross district was increasingly coming to be perceived as the "centre" of the metropolis (supplanting the traditional heartland of the City to the east).[26] From the early 19th century, legislation applicable only to the London metropolis used Charing Cross as a central point to define its geographical scope. Its later use in legislation waned in favour of providing a schedule of local government areas and became mostly obsolete with the creation of Greater London in 1965.
Use | Scope |
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The Knowledge |
The London Hackney Carriage Act 1831 and other Acts set the radius within which licensed London cabs illuminated or otherwise advertising for business had to take a fare (and convey passengers). The legacy of this is that streets within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross are the basis of 'black taxi' driver training. Such cabs can turn down exceptionally long journeys.
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Metropolitan Police District | The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 stated all parishes within 12 miles of Charing Cross could be added. This was expanded to 15 miles by the Metropolitan Police Act 1839. It has since been harmonised to Greater London, as to stations and main conurbations. |
Metropolitan Buildings Office | The Office (superseded in 1855 and today by each local authority's Building Control departments or teams) could regulate use and building standards under the London Building Act 1844 , within 12 miles of Charing Cross
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Street trading | The Metropolitan Streets Act 1856 gave the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police power to control some acts within six miles of Charing Cross. Powers to license shoeblack pitches remain, heavily superseded by the London boroughs ' street trading licensing laws.
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Amateur radio | 431MHz-432MHz are banned for amateur radio use within 100km of Charing Cross. |
Road distances from London continue to be measured from Charing Cross. Prior to its selection as a commonly agreed central
Neighbouring locations
Transport
To the east of the Charing Cross road junction is
The nearest London Underground stations are Charing Cross and Embankment.
References
- ^ "Charing Cross" entry in Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ Charing Cross Express Tesco
- ^ Flickr. Charing Cross (note also "Charing Cross" street sign, upper left)
- ^ Local attractions – Charing Cross Archived 26 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, londoncountyhall.com
- ^ a b c Gover, J. E. B.; Mawer, Allen; Stenton, F. M. (1942). The Place-Names of Middlesex apart from the City of London. English Place-Name Society. Vol. 18. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 167.
- ISBN 9780713401400.
- ^ "Charing Cross – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". library.eb.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 859–860.
- ^ "The Eleanor Crosses". Eleanor of Castille (archived copy). Museum of London. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ^ Medieval and Renaissance: Past, Present and Future: Charing Cross Stuart Frost (Victoria and Albert Museum). Retrieved 13 February 2009
- ^ Where Is The Centre Of London? BBC
- ^ a b c Charing Cross, the railway stations, and Old Hungerford Market, Old and New London: Volume 3 (1878), pp. 123–134. accessed: 13 February 2009
- ^ Harold P. Clunn (1970) The Face of London: 254
- ^ a b c N. Yates, Liturgical Space: Christian Worship and Church Buildings in Western Europe 1500-2000 (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2008), p. 114,
- ^ Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, Survey of London: volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho (1966), pp. 296–312. Retrieved 3 March 2009
- ^ a b The chapel and hospital of St. Mary Rounceval, Survey of London: volume 18: St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand (1937), pp. 1–9. Retrieved 14 February 2009
- ^ Northumberland House, Survey of London: volume 18: St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand (1937), pp. 10–20. Retrieved 14 February 2009
- ^ Alan Brooke and David Brandon (2004). Tyburn: London's Fatal Tree. Stroud, Sutton: 238
- ^ Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) The London Encyclopaedia: 138
- ^ Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) The London Encyclopaedia: 815
- ^ Arthur Groom (1928) Old London Coaching Inns and Their Successors: 3
- ^ Pepys Diary – frequent visits between 1660–69. Particularly 13 October 1660 – for his account of the execution of Harrison.
- ^ The Daily Register. April 1800
- ^ Historic England. "Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross (1236708)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
- ^ Historic England. "Statue of Charles I (1357291)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-19-928120-6.
- ^ Ogilby, John (1675). "Preface". Britannia. London.
- ^ Cary, John (1798). "Advertisement". Cary's New Itinerary. London.
- ^ Paterson, Daniel. A New and Accurate Description of all the Direct and Principal Cross Roads in Great Britain (12th ed.). London. p. x.
- ^ a b Answers and Returns Made Pursuant to an Act: Passed in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George IV. Intituled "An Act for Taking an Account of the Population of Great Britain, and of the Increase Or Diminution Thereof". January 1833. p. 498.
- OCLC 5071681.
- ^ Historic England. "Bow Bell Milestone 35 miles from London (1252622)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ The Traveller's Pocket-Book: or, Ogilby and Morgan's Book of the Roads Improved and Amended, in a method never before attempted. London. 1760. p. iv.
- ^ Clark, John (2007). "Jack Cade at London Stone" (PDF). Transactions of London and Middlesex Archaeological Society. 58: 169–89 (178).
External links
- Charing Cross Bridge in London from Claude Monet, in YOUR CITY AT THE THYSSEN, a Thyssen Museum project on Flickr
- 'The statue of Charles I and site of the Charing Cross', Survey of London: volume 16: St Martin-in-the-Fields I: Charing Cross (1935), pp. 258–268. URL: The statue of Charles I and site of the Charing Cross | British History Online. Retrieved 6 March 2014.