| Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The cross in 2011 | |
 | |
| Location | Charing Cross railway station London,WC2 |
| Built | 1864–1865 |
| Architect | Edward Middleton Barry |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 5 February 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1236708[1] |
TheQueen Eleanor Memorial Cross is a memorial toEleanor of Castile erected in the forecourt ofCharing Cross railway station,London, in 1864–1865. It is a fanciful reconstruction of the medievalEleanor cross atCharing, one of twelve memorial crosses erected byEdward I of England in memory of his first wife. The Victorian monument was designed byEdward Middleton Barry, also the architect of the railway station, and includes multiple statues of Queen Eleanor by the sculptorThomas Earp. It is located 200 metres (220 yd) northeast of the original site of the Charing Cross (destroyed in 1647), which is now occupied byHubert Le Sueur'sequestrian statue of Charles I, installed in 1675; both are along theStrand roadway.
Barry based the memorial on the three surviving drawings of the Charing Cross, in theBodleian Library, theBritish Museum and the collection of theRoyal Society of Antiquaries. However, due to the fragmentary nature of this evidence, he also drew from a wider range of sources including the other surviving Eleanor crosses and Queen Eleanor's tomb atWestminster Abbey.[2] In this search for precedents Barry was assisted by his fellow architectArthur Ashpitel.[3] The coats of arms ofEngland,León,Castile andPonthieu appear on the monument.[1]
Media related toQueen Eleanor Memorial Cross at Wikimedia Commons51°30′30″N0°07′31″W / 51.5084°N 0.1253°W /51.5084; -0.1253
