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Information about Charing Cross

For other meanings of Charing Cross, see .
Charing Cross
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Charing Cross (Greater London)

OS grid referenceTQ302804
London borough Westminster
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region London
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district WC2
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
UK Parliament Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly West Central
European Parliament London
List of places: UK • England UK • London
Coordinates:
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The Victorian replacement Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross.
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The front entrance of Charing Cross railway station in a 19th-century print. The cross in front of the station Hotel is a Victorian replacement for the original Eleanor Cross, which stood near the site.
Charing Cross is the district surrounding Charing Cross railway station in Central London, England. It originates from the hamlet of Charing, where King Edward I placed a cross as a memorial to his wife, Eleanor of Castile. It is officially[1] recognised as the centre of London; distances to London are measured to the location of the original Eleanor cross built at Charing.

History

Charing Cross was the last of 12 locations where Eleanor's coffin rested overnight during the funeral procession from Lincolnshire to her final resting-place at Westminster, half a mile away. At each of these, Edward erected an Eleanor cross, of which only three now remain. The one that stands in front of Charing Cross station is a re-located Victorian version (designed by architect Edward Middleton Barry), larger and more ornate than the original.

The cross's original location was at the village of Charing, at the top of Whitehall, at the south of Trafalgar Square. Since 1675 the site has been occupied by Hubert Le Sueur's statue of King Charles I mounted on a horse. A plaque there reads:

"On the site now occupied by the statue of King Charles was erected the original Queen Eleanor's Cross a replica of which stands in front of Charing Cross Station. Mileages from London are measured from the site of the original cross."


Although it has been thought that the name Charing derived from French chere reine ("dear Queen"), it is more likely to stem from the Old English cearring, meaning a bend in the river - at the site of the village of Charing, coming from Westminster, the Thames makes a dramatic 90-degree turn to the east.

Samuel Johnson is quoted as saying "I think the full tide of human existence is at Charing-Cross." Source: Life of Johnson (J. Boswell), Vol. II. In Aldous Huxley's novel, Brave New World, the Charing Cross is renamed to Charing T, after the Ford Model T.

Official use as central point

Legislation from the early 19th century used Charing Cross as a central point for defining its scope. Its later use in legislation waned in favour of providing a schedule of local government areas and became mostly obsolete with the official creation of Greater London in 1965.

UseScope
Metropolitan Police DistrictThe Metropolitan Police Act 1829 made provision that all parishes within 12 miles could be added. This was expanded to 15 miles by the Metropolitan Police Act 1839.
Metropolitan Buildings OfficeThe London Building Act 1844 allowed that any place within 12 miles could be added to the area of responsibility.
The KnowledgeStreets within a six-mile radius are included in taxi driver training.

Charing Cross Arches

Since the railway was built, the arches beneath Charing Cross railway station have provided refuge for some of London’s marginal groups, wary of a hostile public reaction to their way of life. In the early twentieth century, the arches and Charing Cross station concourse were notorious cruising sites.[2] They also provided shelter for many of London’s single homeless people drifting between hostels and the streets and sleeping rough in cardboard boxes.[3][4] In 1979 the arches became home to ‘’Heaven’’, one of the best known gay nightclubs in Central London.[5]

Charing Cross arches were the inspiration for the popular song performed by the famous duo Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen. They were also the focal point for the influential radio documentary, Underneath the Arches, which alerted public attention to the plight of homeless people.[6]

Nearest places

Nearest tube stations

Nearest railway stations

References

1. ^ [1] BBC - Where Is The Centre Of London?. Retrieved 31 December 2006.
2. ^ [2] Queer London: Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957. Google book reviews. URL accessed October 15, 2007.
3. ^ [3] The Blackburn Citizen website. URL accessed October 15, 2007.
4. ^ [4] Oxford Journals website. URL accessed October 15, 2007.
5. ^ [5] Out in London website. URL accessed October 15, 2007.
6. ^ Radio Times March 5 - 11 1977
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