Editing Charing Cross (section)

== History ==
===Location and etymology===
[[File:Old Charing Cross.jpg|thumb|upright|The old Eleanor cross at Charing ({{Circa|1293}} to 1643)]]
[[File:John Norden's Map of Westminster - Charing Cross.jpg|thumb|right|Charing Cross shown on [[John Norden]]'s map of Westminster, 1593. The map is oriented with north to the top right, and Whitehall to the bottom left.]]
{{Blockquote|<poem>Erect a rich and stately carved cross,
Whereon her statue shall with glory shine;
And henceforth see you call it Charing Cross.</poem>
|<small>[[George Peele]] ''The [[Famous Chronicle of King Edward the First]]'' (1593)</small>}}
The name of the lost hamlet, Charing, is derived from the [[Old English]] word ''ċierring'', a river bend, in this case, referring to a bend in the [[River Thames|Thames]].<ref name="epns">{{cite book |first1=J. E. B. |last1=Gover |first2=Allen |last2=Mawer |author-link=Allen Mawer|first3=F. M. |last3=Stenton |author3-link=Frank Stenton |title=The Place-Names of Middlesex apart from the City of London |series=[[English Place-Name Society]] |volume=18 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1942 |pages=167 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Helen |last=Bebbington |title=London Street Names |location=London |publisher=Batsford |year=1972 |isbn=9780713401400 |page=[https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb/page/81 81] |url=https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb/page/81 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9022531?query=charing%20cross&ct= |title=Charing Cross – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=library.eb.co.uk |access-date=7 July 2010 }}</ref> A debunked [[folk etymology]] claimed the name is a [[corruption (linguistics)|corruption]] of ''chère reine'' ("dear queen" in French), but the name pre-dates Queen Eleanor's death by at least a hundred years.<ref name="epns" /><ref>{{cite web|title=The Eleanor Crosses|url=http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/medieval/People/147014/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112090526/http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/medieval/People/147014/|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 November 2013|work=Eleanor of Castille (archived copy)|publisher=[[Museum of London]]|access-date=12 November 2013}}</ref>

The suffix "Cross" refers to the [[Eleanor cross]] made during 1291&ndash;94 by order of King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] as a memorial to his wife, [[Eleanor of Castile]].<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Charing Cross|volume=5|pages=859–860}}</ref> This place latter comprised little more than wayside cottages serving the [[Royal Mews]] in the northern area of [[Trafalgar Square]], and built specifically for the [[Palace of Whitehall]] (much of the east side of [[Whitehall]]).  A variant from the hazy [[Middle English orthography]] of the late fourteenth century is ''Cherryngescrouche''.<ref name="epns" />

The stone cross was the work of the medieval sculptor, [[Alexander of Abingdon]].<ref>[http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1265_frost/?p=14 ''Medieval and Renaissance: Past, Present and Future: Charing Cross''] Stuart Frost ([[Victoria and Albert Museum]]). Retrieved 13 February 2009</ref> It was destroyed in 1647 on the orders of the purely Parliamentarian phase of the [[Long Parliament]] or [[Oliver Cromwell]] himself in the [[English Civil War|Civil War]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/08/15/charingcross_feature.shtml Where Is The Centre Of London?] BBC</ref> A {{convert|70|ft|m|abbr=on}}-high [[Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross|stone sculpture]] in front of [[Charing Cross railway station]], erected in 1865, is a reimagining of the medieval cross, on a larger scale, more ornate, and not on the original site. It was designed by the architect [[Edward Middleton Barry|E. M. Barry]] and carved by [[Thomas Earp (sculptor)|Thomas Earp]] of Lambeth out of [[Portland stone]], [[Mansfield]] stone (a fine sandstone) and [[Aberdeen granite]]; and it stands 222 yards (203 metres) to the north-east of the original cross, focal to the station forecourt, facing the [[Strand, London|Strand]].<ref name="Old" />

Since 1675 the site of the cross has been occupied by a statue of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], the king beheaded during the Cromwellian era, mounted on a horse. The site is recognised by modern convention as the centre of London for determining distances (whether geodesically or by road network) in preference to other measurement points (such as [[St Paul's Cathedral]] which remains the root of the English and Welsh part of the [[Great Britain road numbering scheme]]). Charing Cross is marked on modern maps as a road junction, and was used in street numbering for the section of Whitehall between [[Great Scotland Yard]] and Trafalgar Square. Since 1 January 1931 this segment has more logically and officially become the northern end of Whitehall.<ref>Harold P. Clunn (1970) ''The Face of London'': 254</ref>

===St Mary Rounceval===
[[File:Northumberland House on John Rocque's 1746 map of London edited.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|An extract from [[John Rocque's Map of London, 1746]], showing [[Northumberland House]]. The two projecting garden wings had not yet been added.]]
At some time between 1232 and 1236, the Chapel and Hospital of St Mary Rounceval was founded at Charing. It occupied land at the corner of the modern Whitehall and into the centre of [[Northumberland Avenue]], running down to a wharf by the river. It was an [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] house, tied to a mother house at [[Roncesvalles]] in the [[Pyrenees]]. The house and lands were seized for the king in 1379, under a statute "for the forfeiture of the lands of schismatic aliens". Protracted legal action returned some rights to the prior, but in 1414, [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] suppressed the 'alien' houses. The priory fell into a long decline from lack of money and arguments regarding the collection of tithes with the parish church of [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]]. In 1541, religious artefacts were removed to [[St. Margaret's, Westminster|St Margaret's]], and the chapel was adapted as a private house; its almshouse were sequestered to the Royal Palace.<ref name="Rounceval">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=68266 ''The chapel and hospital of St. Mary Rounceval''], ''[[Survey of London]]'': volume 18: St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand (1937), pp. 1–9. Retrieved 14 February 2009</ref>
[[File:Northumberland House by Canaletto (1752).JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|left|Frontage onto Strand/Charing Cross of Northumberland House in 1752 by [[Canaletto]]. The statue of Charles I is at the right of the painting. At the left is the Golden Cross Inn, with signboard outside.]]

In 1608–09, the [[Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton|Earl of Northampton]] built [[Northumberland House]] on the eastern portion of the property. In June 1874, the duke's property at Charing Cross was purchased by the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]] for the formation of Northumberland Avenue.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=68267 ''Northumberland House''], ''[[Survey of London]]'': volume 18: St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand (1937), pp. 10–20. Retrieved 14 February 2009</ref>

The frontage of the Rounceval property caused the narrowing at the end of the Whitehall entry to Charing Cross, and formed the section of Whitehall formerly known as Charing Cross, until road widening in the 1930s caused the rebuilding of the south side of the street which created a wide thoroughfare.<ref name="Rounceval" />

===Battle===
In 1554, Charing Cross was the site of the final battle of [[Wyatt's Rebellion]]. This was an attempt by [[Thomas Wyatt the younger|Thomas Wyatt]] and others to overthrow Queen [[Mary I of England]], soon after her accession to the throne, and replace her with [[Lady Jane Grey]]. Wyatt's army had come from Kent, and with [[London Bridge]] barred to them, had crossed the river by what was then the next bridge upstream, at [[Hampton Court]]. Their circuitous route brought them down [[St Martin's Lane]] to Whitehall.<ref name="Old" />

The palace was defended by 1000 men under Sir [[John Gage (Tudor politician)|John Gage]] at Charing Cross; they retreated within Whitehall after firing their shot, causing consternation within, thinking the force had changed sides. The rebels – themselves fearful of artillery on the higher ground around [[St James's]] – did not press their attack and marched on to [[Ludgate]], where they were met by the [[Tower of London|Tower Garrison]] and surrendered.<ref name="Old">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45140 ''Charing Cross, the railway stations, and Old Hungerford Market''], ''Old and New London'': Volume 3 (1878), pp. 123–134. accessed: 13 February 2009</ref>

===Civil war removal===
[[File:Charing Cross Station 02.jpg|thumb|The [[Victorian era|Victorian]] replacement of the original [[Eleanor Cross]] 200 metres (200 yards) away, along the Strand in front of Charing Cross Station/Hotel. The area derives its name from the original monument destroyed by Parliament in the 1600s; the memorial replacement dates from the 1800s.]]
The Eleanor Cross was pulled down, by order of Parliament, in 1647, at the time of the [[English Civil War]], becoming the subject of a popular [[Cavalier|Royalist]] [[ballad]]:

{{Blockquote|<poem>Methinks the common-council shou'd
Of it have taken pity,
'Cause, good old cross, it always stood
So firmly in the city.
Since crosses you so much disdain,
Faith, if I were you,
For fear the King should rule again,
I'd pull down [[Tyburn|Tiburn]] too.</poem>
|<small>Extract from "The Downfall of Charing Cross"</small><ref>Alan Brooke and David Brandon (2004). ''Tyburn: London's Fatal Tree''. Stroud, Sutton: 238</ref>}}

At [[Stuart Restoration|the Restoration]] (1660 or shortly after) eight of the [[List of regicides of Charles I|regicide]]s were executed here, including the notable [[Fifth Monarchist]], Colonel [[Thomas Harrison (soldier)|Thomas Harrison]].<ref>Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) ''[[The London Encyclopaedia]]'': 138</ref> A statue of Charles I was, likewise in Charles II's reign, erected on the site. This had been made in 1633 by [[Hubert Le Sueur]], in the reign of Charles I, but in 1649 Parliament ordered a man to destroy it; however he instead hid it and brought it back to the new King, Charles II (Charles I's son), and his Parliament who had the statue erected here in 1675.<ref>Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) ''[[The London Encyclopaedia]]'': 815</ref>

[[File:Microcosm of London Plate 062 - Pillory, Charing Cross edited.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.3|The Pillory at Charing Cross (1809). The dark equestrian statue is the junction centrepiece (marker). This is a drawing by [[Augustus Pugin]] and [[Thomas Rowlandson]] for [[Rudolph Ackermann]]'s ''Microcosm of London'' (1808&ndash;11).]]

A prominent [[pillory]], where malefactors were publicly flogged, stood alongside for centuries.<ref>Arthur Groom (1928)'' Old London Coaching Inns and Their Successors'': 3</ref> About 200 yards to the east was the [[Hungerford Market]], established at the end of the 16th century; and to the north was the [[King's Mews]], or Royal Mews, the stables for the Palace of Whitehall and thus the King's own presence at the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster). The whole area of the broad pavements of what was a three-way main junction with private (stables) turn-off was a popular place of street entertainment. [[Samuel Pepys]] records in his diaries visiting the taverns and watching the entertainments and executions that were held there.<ref>''Pepys Diary'' – frequent visits between 1660–69. Particularly 13 October 1660 – for his account of the execution of Harrison.</ref> This was combined with the south of the mews when Trafalgar Square was built on the site in 1832, the rest of the stable yard becoming the National Gallery primarily.

A major London coaching inn, the "Golden Cross" – first mentioned in 1643 – faced this junction. From here, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, coaches linked variously terminuses of: [[Dover]], [[Brighton]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], Bristol, [[Cambridge]], [[Holyhead]] and [[York]]. The inn features in ''[[Sketches by Boz]]'', ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]'' and ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]]. In the latter, the dangers to public safety of the quite low archway to access the inn's coaching yard were memorably pointed out by [[Mr Jingle]]:
<blockquote>"Heads, heads – take care of your heads", cried the loquacious stranger as they came out under the low archway which in those days formed the entrance to the coachyard. "Terrible place – dangerous work – other day – five children – mother – tall lady, eating sandwiches – forgot the arch – crash – knock – children look round – mother's head off – sandwich in her hand – no mouth to put it in – head of family off."</blockquote>

The story echoes an accident of 11 April 1800, when the Chatham and Rochester coach was emerging from the gateway of the Golden Cross, and "a young woman, sitting on the top, threw her head back, to prevent her striking against the beam; but there being so much luggage on the roof of the coach as to hinder her laying herself sufficiently back, it caught her face, and tore the flesh in a dreadful manner."<ref>''The Daily Register''. April 1800</ref>

The inn and its yard, pillory, and what remained of the Royal Mews, made way for Trafalgar Square, and a new Golden Cross Hotel was built in the 1830s on the triangular block fronted by [[South Africa House]]. A nod to this is made by some offices on the Strand, in a building named Golden Cross House.

===Cross memorial===
{{Main|Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross}}

[[File:Charing Cross London from 1833 Schmollinger map.jpg|thumb|right|Area around Charing Cross {{c.}}1833]]
[[File:Westminster Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|A map showing the Charing Cross ward of Westminster Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916]]
The railway station opened in 1864, fronted on the Strand with the Charing Cross Hotel. In 1865, a replacement cross was commissioned from [[E. M. Barry]] by the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] as the centrepiece of the station forecourt. It is not a replica, being of an ornate [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[Gothic architecture|Gothic design]] based on [[George Gilbert Scott]]'s Oxford [[Martyrs' Memorial]] (1838). The Cross rises {{convert|70|ft|m}} in three main stages on an octagonal plan, surmounted by a spire and cross. The shields in the panels of the first stage are copied from the [[Eleanor Crosses]] and bear the arms of England, [[Castile and León|Castile]], [[Castile and León|Leon]] and [[Ponthieu]]; above the 2nd parapet are eight statues of Queen Eleanor. The Cross was designated a [[listed building|Grade II*]] monument on 5 February 1970.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1236708 |desc=Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross |access-date=13 February 2009}}</ref> The month before, the bronze equestrian statue of Charles, on a pedestal of carved Portland stone, was given Grade I listed protection.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1357291 |desc=Statue of Charles I |access-date=13 February 2009}}</ref>

The rebuilding of a monument to resemble the one lost under Cromwell's low church Britain took place in 1864 in Britain's main era of medieval revivalism.<ref name=Yates2008/> The next year the memorial was completed and [[Cardinal Wiseman]] died, having been appointed the first [[Archbishop of Westminster]] in 1850, with many Anglican churches also having restored or re-created their medieval ornamentations by the end of the century. By this time England was the epicentre of the [[Gothic Revival]].<ref name=Yates2008>N. Yates, ''Liturgical Space: Christian Worship and Church Buildings in Western Europe 1500-2000'' (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2008), p. 114,</ref> It was intertwined with deeply philosophical movements associated with a re-awakening of "High Church" or [[Anglo-Catholic]] self-belief (and by the Catholic convert [[Augustus Welby Pugin]]) concerned by the growth of religious nonconformism.<ref name=Yates2008/>

The cross, having been revived, gave its name to a [[Charing Cross railway station|railway station]], a [[Charing Cross tube station|tube station]], a police station, a [[Charing Cross Hospital|hospital]], a hotel, a [[Charing Cross Theatre|theatre]], and a [[Charing Cross Music Hall|music hall]] (which had lain beneath the arches of the railway station). [[Charing Cross Road]], the main route from the north (which became the east side of Trafalgar Square), was named after the railway station, itself a major destination for traffic, rather than after the original cross.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41110 ''Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road''], ''[[Survey of London]]'': volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho (1966), pp. 296–312. Retrieved 3 March 2009</ref>