London Stone

London Stone is a historic landmark kept in a wall niche at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is a block of Clipsham or Bath limestone, once much larger, now measuring about half a metre each way. The stone has stood in this spot since the 1820s, housed in a Portland stone frame with an iron grille above it. It sits opposite Cannon Street station on the north side of the street, close to the rebuilt church of St Swithin. The building itself is a plain commercial block, but the stone’s casing draws the eye. The stone has been a London landmark since at least the 12th century. Medieval records show people living ‘at London Stone’, and the first mayor of London took his name from it. In 1450 Jack Cade struck his sword on the stone and claimed lordship of the city. By Elizabethan times it was a tourist sight, used for posting notices and even breaking bad spectacles in 1671. John Stow described it in 1598 as firmly fixed, and Nathaniel Hawthorne saw its sword marks in the 1850s. Visitors find the stone behind a circular aperture in a plain wall, protected by iron bars and a small plaque. The top shows shallow dents once said to be from Cade’s blade. The surrounding street is busy with office workers, and the rebuilt church of St Swithin stands nearby. No grand display marks the spot, just a quiet relic in a modern setting.