.png) Looking west towards St. Paul's Cathedral, close to the entrance to Cannon Street station (2006) | |
| Former name(s) | Candelwrichstrete, Candlewick Street, Canwick Street, Cannik Street, Cannin Street |
|---|---|
| Length | 0.5 mi (0.80 km) |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Postal code | EC4 |
| Nearest train station |   Cannon StreetMansion House |
| East end | King William Street |
| West end | St. Paul's Churchyard |
Cannon Street is a road in theCity of London, the historic nucleus ofLondon and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with theRiver Thames, about 250 metres (820 ft) north of it, in the north of the City.
It is the site of the ancientLondon Stone and gave its name toCannon Street station, a mainline railway terminus and connectedLondon Underground station.
The area around Cannon Street was initially the place of residence of the candle-makers. The name first appears asCandelwrichstrete (i.e. "Candlewright Street") in 1190.[1] The name was shortened over 60 times[1] as a result of the localcockney dialect and settled on Cannon Street in the 17th century,[2] and is therefore not related to the firearms. The ward ofCandlewick is named after the street.[3]
A Cannon Street inBirmingham, according to the archives ofBirmingham Central Library, is named after the London street.
Candleriggs, a street inGlasgow, has a name of the same origin and meaning.
In the west, Cannon Street starts at St Paul's Churchyard outsideSt Paul's Cathedral; running east it meetsQueen Victoria Street nearMansion House Underground station, passingCannon Street station, and finally meetsKing William Street andGracechurch Street nearMonument tube station.
In the late 19th century Cannon Street was occupied by large wholesale warehouses, especially of cotton goods and other fabrics.[4]
London Stone, a historic landmark of uncertain origin, was originally situated in the middle of Cannon Street, oppositeSt Swithin's Church. It was later set into the wall of the church,[4] and now rests in aPortland stone casing on the north side of the street, opposite Cannon Street station.
The Romanpraetorium, or "governor's palace", may also have been located in this area, between the principal street of RomanLondinium 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.
SingerMarc Almond suffered a near-fatal crash in this street in 2004, whilst riding pillion on a motorcycle.
WhereQueen 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.[5]
Cannon Street formed part of themarathon course of the2012 Olympic andParalympic Games.[6][7]
Cannon Street has eightpubs (as of 2012) in and around the area which is one of the largest[8] concentrations in the City of London.
Cannon Street also appeared in scene VI of William Shakespeare'sHenry IV, Part 2.[9]
Cannon Street station is served by theDistrict andCircle lines on theLondon Underground and also bySoutheastern mainline rail services. The street is also the location ofMansion House tube station, also on the District and Circle lines, and of one of the entrances toBank station, on theCentral,Northern andWaterloo & City lines and theDocklands Light Railway.
London Buses routes 15, 17, 521 and night routes N15 and N199 serve Cannon Street.[10]
51°30′43″N0°5′31″W / 51.51194°N 0.09194°W /51.51194; -0.09194
