facts about london continued

London Stone:

If you walk east down Cannon Street, on the other side from the railway station, you will find an iron grille set within the Bank of China building. This is where you can find what remains of "London Stone." The stone is about 2 feet tall and has a very faint groove on its top. For many centuries it was popularly believed to be the stone of Brutus of Troy, brought by him to London as a deity. The stone is also believed to be have been used by the Romans as the place from which they measured all distances in Britannia. "So long as the stone of Brutus is safe," ran one city proverb, "so long shall London flourish". If you don't know that this is what you are looking for, you may very well walk past the stone, as I did the first time I went to go look for it. The address of the building is 111 Cannon Street and it is worth walking past a few times before finally espying.

London Wall:

London Wall was the defensive wall first built by the Romans around Londinium. The wall was subsequently maintained until the 18th century. London Wall is the name of a road in the City of London running along part of the course of the wall. Until the later Middle Ages the wall defined the boundaries of the City of London.

A section of the original London Wall, with medieval additions, can still be seen by Trinity Place just north of the Tower of London; part of the Tower itself was incorporated within the fabric of the wall. It was almost 10 feet wide at its base, and more than 20 feet in height. Besides these relics of the wall by Trinity Place, you can see the stone outline of an inner tower which contained a wooden staircase leading to a parapet which looked east across the marshes.

St. Pancras:

St. Pancras is believed to be the first Christian church in England established by Augustine himself, and is reported to contain the last bell which was able to toll during the Mass. A likely derivation of "Pancras" -- associated with a saintly boy named Pancras -- is Pan Crucis or Pan Cross -- the monogram or symbol of Christ himself. A Vatican historian named Maximilian Misson has asserted that: "St. Pancras under Highgate, near London … is the Head and Mother of all Christian Churches." As Peter Ackroyd asks: "Who could imagine the source of such power in the wasteland north of King’s Cross Station?" If you've ever been to King's Cross Station, you'll know what I mean. Though the station and the area has been renovated extensively over the last 10 years or so. It isn't really a wasteland anymore. But I still refer to the area as St. Pancreas.