London Stone

I only really became properly aware of the London Stone relatively recently, in the mid-Nineties when my then partner moved to London and went to work near The Bank.

Sometimes, as you do, you accompany your partner to work, or meet them after for various reasons and that meant arriving at Cannon Street station and crossing the road to walk up St Swithin's Lane.

Doing that took me past a very odd box set into the wall with a plaque set into the top. Well I'm a bit of a sucker for plaques and looking at it I found .....

"This is a fragment of the original piece of limestone once securely fixed on the ground now fronting Cannon Street Station

Removed in 1742 to the north side of the street in 1798 it was built into the south wall of Church of St Swithun London Stone which stood here until demolished in 1962.

Its origin and purpose are unknown but in 1188 there was a reference to Henry, son of Eylwin de Londenstane, subsequently Lord Mayor of London. "

Well as regular readers of my blog will know that was a reason to do some research and shortly I found a whole set of interesting myths.

The Stone is sometimes called the Stone of Brutus because one myth is that the stone was part of an altar built by Brutus of Troy, the legendary founder of London. Another part of that story is that "So long as the stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish"

Other stories suggest that it is all that remains of an ancient stone circle, said to have once stood on Ludgate Hill, or even that it is the stone from which King Arthur drew Excalibur. A more likely tale is however that it is the the place from which the Romans measured all distances in Britannia.

Certainly it was at the heart of the City of London, and it is said was once a place where deals were forged and oaths were sworn and the point from which official proclamations were once made.

Originally it was situated in the middle of Cannon Street and was much larger than it is now. It was moved, (though why doesn't seem to be recorded), and set into the wall of St Swithin's Church, which was on this site before it was bombed during the Second World War. The Stone was unscathed, so the city survived as per the Brutus Legend.

The stone and the box, which with its substantial iron grille make seeing the stone itself difficult, was listed as a Grade Two Star structure in 1972.

So I don't think it very likely we will get better view of this ancient relic any time soon.