The name , now given to a mainline railway station and the surrounding district of central
London , comes from the original
Hamlet of Charing, where King
Edward I placed a cross in memorial to his wife,
Eleanor Of Castile . It is often regarded as the very centre of London: other districts tend to be referenced by their distance from it.
It was one of twelve places 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 which stands in front of Charing Cross railway station is a re-located
Victorian "copy" (designed by
Architect Edward Middleton Barry ) of the original, which was not nearly as large or ornate as the Victorian version.
The original position of the cross was at the top of
Whitehall , at the south of
Trafalgar Square . The spot is now occupied by the 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"
The name ''Charing Cross'' derives from the old English word ''charing'', meaning a bend in the river; thus, the Charing Cross is "the cross by the village at the bend in the river".
In 1839 the
Metropolitan Police District was extended to cover every parish within 15 miles of Charing Cross.
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''.
