London Stone

A plaque previously mounted above the London Stone at 111 Cannon Street. It reads ‘London Stone / This is a fragment of the original piece of limestone once securely fixed in the ground now fronting Cannon Street Station. / Removed in 1742 to the north side of the street, in 1798 it was built into the south wall of the Church of St. Swithun London Stone which stood here until demolished in 1962. / Its origin and purpose are unknown but in 1188 there was a reference to Henry, son of Eylwin de Londenstane, subsequently Lord Mayor of London.’
This plaque was placed above the alcove in which London Stone was displayed from 1962 to 2016. The plaque is a significant relic associated with the long and varied history of London Stone’s display in Cannon Street. London Stone is an object around which many myths and misunderstandings have grown over the centuries, and the text of the plaque speaks to that. It says that ‘[London Stone’s] origin and purpose are unknown’, which is certainly true. It is suspected that London Stone is the remains of a much larger Roman stone, possibly from the impressive Roman building on the south side of Cannon Street. However, this unlikely to be proven beyond doubt. The earliest reference to London Stone is in a list of London properties belonging to Canterbury Cathedral, dated 1098-1108. A property is described as being given to Canterbury by ‘Eadwaker æt lundene stane’. It appears that London Stone in the medieval and early modern period was simply a landmark, though many people over the centuries have attempted to give it more interesting and significant purposes. The plaque refers to another early written record of London Stone: in the earliest London chronicle known as Liber de Antiquis Legibus (the Book of Ancient Laws), which says that in the first year of the reign of Richard I (1189) ‘factus est Henricus filius Eylwini de Londene-stane Maior Londoniarum’ (‘Henry, son of Eylwin of London Stone, was made mayor of London’). However, the plaque wrongly states that the year was 1188. The other dates on the plaque are correct, though the stone was moved again in the 1820s to a slightly different position in the church wall of St Swithin (this last move is not mentioned on the plaque).
The Church of St Swithin London Stone was severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War, with a report in August of 1941 declaring that the structure would become very dangerous to the public and that restoration was not practical. The Diocese of London sold the church, which was demolished and an office building was built on the site in 1962, owned by the Bank of China. The planning conditions specified that London Stone be displayed in the front wall of the new building, in a similar style to its previous display in the church wall. A stone niche and canopy with a protective metal grille was created for it, echoing the form of its earlier niche. Though the stone was on display from 1962, it did not originally have a plaque to explain its significance. This was noted by a member of the City of London’s Common Council in May of 1963, and the City’s planners wrote to the architects of the new building, requesting that a plaque be added. Negotiations between the planners, the Bank of China and their architects about the style of the plaque and its wording continued into 1964. A photograph of the new building from 1969 (London Picture Archive, image 38508) shows the plaque in position, where it remained until the demolition of the building in 2016. Again, the planning requirements for the new building stated that London Stone be re-displayed on the south façade of the building. It was also agreed that the 1960s plaque be given to London Museum to be preserved as a record of the stone’s history.