More information : (TQ32668090)
268 Cannon Street, former position of London stone
A small portion of London Stone was until 1960 incorporated in
the S. wall of St. Swithin's Church, but until 1742 it stood on
the S. side of Cannon Street in approximately the position shown-
now in the middle of the widened road. It is not unlikely that
the base, and perhaps even the main part of the stone, is still
buried here. The portion removed from the church wall is shaped
artificially to a rounded top, and is evidently merely the upper
part of the great stone which Stow describes as being deep-rooted
in the ground. It is of Clipsham Limestone, and is quite
featureless apart from two grooves worn in the top. From the time
of Camden, it has been suggested that it was a Roman milestone,
possibly the central milestone of the Province, from which all
distances were measured. Modern archaeologists have been
sceptical of this, and there is no evidence of a Roman date,
though the stone was certainly in existence in the early Middle
Ages, and according to Stow it was mentioned in a Gospel book
given by King Athelstan to Christ's Church, Canterbury. In
excavations for rebuilding after the Great Fire, mosaic pavements
and other Roman remains were found in the adjoining ground to the
south, and the stone certainly stood beside a Roman road.
Sir Christopher Wren, in 1750, had suggested that the stone was
part of a large building and that it may have belonged to the
mosaic pavements found to the south, now identified as a Roman
palace (TQ 38 SW 726) It is significant that the stone was on
the line of the central building of the palace csomplex and may
well represent part of a monumental gateway, possibly in situ,
facing on to the E - W Roman road.
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