Cannon Street is a road in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, about north of it, in the south of the City. It is the site of the ancient

London Stone London Stone is a historic landmark housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12"), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood ...

and gave its name to

Cannon Street station Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is on ...

, a mainline railway terminus and connected

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station.

Etymology

The area around Cannon Street was initially the place of residence of the candle-makers. The name first appears as ''Candelwrichstrete'' (i.e. "Candlewright Street") in 1190.Loius Zettersten, "City Street Names", (1926) The name was shortened over 60 times as a result of the local cockney dialect and settled on Cannon Street in the 17th century,Smith, A., ''Dictionary of City of London Street Names'', (1970), David & Charles and is therefore not related to the firearms. A Cannon Street in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, according to the archives of

Birmingham Central Library Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was ...

, is named after the London street.

Overview

In the west, Cannon Street starts at St Paul's Churchyard outside

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

; running east it meets Queen Victoria Street near

Mansion House Underground station Mansion House is a London Underground station in the City of London which takes its name from Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It opened in 1871 as the eastern terminus of the Metropolitan District Railway. Today, Mans ...

, passing

, and finally meets King William Street and

Gracechurch Street Gracechurch Street is a main road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, which is designated the A1213. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, and offices and has an entrance to Leadenhall Market, a covered ...

near Monument tube station. Cannon Street - geograph

In the late 19th century Cannon Street was occupied by large wholesale warehouses, especially of cotton goods and other fabrics.

, a historic landmark of uncertain origin, was originally situated in the middle of Cannon Street, opposite St Swithin's Church. It was later set into the wall of the church, and now rests in a

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

casing on the north side of the street, opposite Cannon Street station. The Roman ''

praetorium The Latin term (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman castrum (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2 ed., ...

'', or " governor's palace", may also have been located in this area, between the principal street of Roman

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

and the River Thames. The remains of a very large high status building were found with a garden, water pools and several large halls, some of them decorated with mosaic floors. The plan of the building is only partly preserved, but was erected in the second part of the 1st century and was in use until around 300, rebuilt and renovated several times. Singer

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

suffered a near-fatal crash in this street in 2004, whilst riding pillion on a motorcycle. Where Queen Street crosses Cannon Street there is a pedestrian-priority "Central Plaza" area. This was part of an award-winning public realm improvement scheme undertaken in 2006. Cannon Street formed part of the marathon course of the 2012 Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. Cannon Street has eight

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s (as of 2012) in and around the area which is one of the largest concentrations in the City of London. Cannon Street also appeared in scene VI of William Shakespeare's '' Henry IV, Part 2''.

Transport links

is served by the

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

and Circle lines on the

and also by

Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

mainline rail services. The street is also the location of Mansion House Underground station, also on the District and Circle lines.

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes 15, 17, 521 and night route N15 serve Cannon Street.

Etymology

Overview

Transport links

References

Further reading