Every day hordes of City workers rush past a stone set in a glass case in the front of the Sportec sports shop opposite Cannon Street station, with no inkling that it is one of the oldest, most mysterious and possibly most historic relics in London. Supposedly once marking the centre point of London, in 1742 it was deemed an obstacle to traffic on Cannon Street and relocated to the wall of St Swithin's Church across the road.
Dave did:
I was very intrigued by this stone, especially when Timeout suggested that it wasn't very obviously placed despite its history and original purpose. Unfortunately Cannon Street station is used more during the working week as it is in the business side of London.
So walking out to a deserted station and street on a Saturday evening was more than a bit unnerving to say the least! It took me several attempts to locate the stone, and after a quick search on wikipedia (thank goodness for internet on mobile phones) I found it!
Unfortunately the sports centre is now closed (as in completely, not just for the evening) and according to wikipedia the building which houses the stone is actually due for demolition to build new business blocks. The British Museum is now looking to relocate the stone once more...
I say it took me a while to find the stone, but had the sports centre still been operational I think it would have been easier as wikipedia's pictures presented like this:
What I found was this:
Dark, lifeless, and completely inconspicious! I attempted to look inside the metal grating but couldn't make a thing out!
So I resolved myself to reading the plaque laid above it and quickly move on before I got mugged...
68 down...932 Things to go!
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