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Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, 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 o ...
, a mainline railway terminus and connected London Underground 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; 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
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 o ...
, 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. In the late 19th century Cannon Street was occupied by large wholesale warehouses, especially of cotton goods and other fabrics.
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 ...
, 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 casing on the north side of the street, opposite Cannon Street station. The Roman '' praetorium'', or " governor's palace", may also have been located in this area, between the principal street of Roman Londinium 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 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. 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 wa ...
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

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 o ...
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 London Underground 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 sep ...
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 s ...
routes 15, 17, 521 and night route N15 serve Cannon Street.


References


Further reading

* . (bird's eye view) {{London landmarks Streets in the City of London