The London Stone

Block of oolitic limestone at 111 Cannon St. Survived the great fire of 1666, and blitz-bombing in WWII. 

“The earliest written reference to the London Stone is in a book belonging to King Athelstan in the early 10th century. It was used as a common transportation landmark in the 12th century when it was referred to as the Londenstane.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/london-stone 

Timeline:

• Early 12th Century: The first official written documentation of the "London Stone" (referred to as Londenstane) occurs. 

• 1450: Rebel leader Jack Cade struck his sword on the stone when entering the city, proclaiming himself "Lord of this city". 

• In the 15th century, the stone was commonplace for meetings, the taking of oaths, and the making of official proclamations. The Lord Mayor of London would strike the stone with staff on Mayor’s Day as a proclamation of authority. 

• 1742–1940: The stone was moved several times and eventually built into the wall of St Swithin's Church, where it survived the Blitz bombings of World War II. 

• 2018: Following the redevelopment of the 111 Cannon Street office block, the stone was permanently reinstalled in a special protective display case on Cannon Street (atlasobscura.com), where it remains today

Story “The other problem was that carters kept crashing into the stone, usually coming off worst in the encounter and littering the street with broken wheels. Canny locals may well have benefitted from this free firewood, sending out their smallest children to distract the drivers with a “Coo, look up there mistah!” just as a cart was rounding the corner and heading towards the stone. On one occasion in 1741, an angry carter and a drayman who’d had a narrow escape from crashing attempted to drag the stone out of the ground, so it was clearly still causing problems and free street theatre for the Georgians.”

Movement/Location

London Stone has survived long years and has even had a few travels, but like any loyal Londoner, it likes to stay close to its roots. Having survived the Great Fire, London Stone was moved out of the way of Georgian London’s growing traffic to a location next to the door of the Church of St Swithin nearby. It was relocated twice at the church, and set in an alcove in the nineteenth century, when a protective grille was added, and an inscription. London Stone remarkably made it through the Blitz too, even though the church was destroyed so that only the walls remained.

• https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/London-Stone/  

Folklore 

• The Trojan Connection: Myth traces the stone back to Brutus of Troy, the legendary founder of Britain, who supposedly brought it from Troy and erected it as an altar to the goddess Diana. https://folklorethursday.com/regional-folklore/the-london-stone-protector-of-the-city/ 

• King Arthur's Sword: Some medieval and modern lore connects the artifact to the famous Excalibur myth, claiming it is the very stone from which Arthur pulled the sword to prove his divine right to the throne. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/London-Stone/ 

• Jack Cade's Rebellion: It served as a historical site for official oaths, proclamations, and trade. In 1450, the rebel leader Jack Cade struck his sword against it, declaring himself "Lord of the City." https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/London-Stone/ 

• Magical Properties: Elizabethan occultist and advisor John Dee believed the stone possessed mystical energy, while the poet William Blake thought it was the remains of an ancient druid altar. https://www.urban75.org/blog/the-london-stone/ 

• Destruction of the Unworthy: In 1671, the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers publicly broke hundreds of substandard, "deceitful" spectacles on the stone to serve as a public deterrent. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190805-the-baffling-origin-of-london-stone 

Pubs/Surrounds 

2 pubs used to be called “the London Stone pub”

1. The Cannick Tapps 109 Cannon Street

2. Several Slug and Lettuce (stonegategroup.co.uk) locations, owned by the Stonegate Group, have been rebranded and renamed as The London Stone

Nearby pubs: 

• The Candlemaker 

• The Sugar Loaf

• The Sir John Hawkshaw

What else is nearby? (Historic)

• London Mithraeum - Located under the Bloomberg building, this is a reconstructed underground Roman temple dedicated to the god Mithras, dating back to 240 AD

• Monument to the Great Fire of London 

• Leadenhall Market - A spectacular, ornate Victorian market built on the site of the ancient Roman basilica and forum

• St Paul’s Cathedral - Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece, featuring the iconic massive dome towering over the city skyline