{On a plaque beside the glazed niche:}
London Stone
The remaining part of London Stone, which once stood in the middle of Cannon Street, slightly west of its present location. Its original purpose is unknown although it may be Roman and related to Roman buildings that lay to the south. It was already called 'London Stone' in the 12th century and became an important city landmark. In 1450 Jack Cade, leader of the rebellion against the corrupt government of Henry VI, struck it with his sword and claimed to be Lord of London.
In 1742, London Stone was moved to the north side of the street and eventually set in an alcove in the wall of St. Swithin's church on this site.
The church was bombed in the Second World War and demolished in 1961-2, and London Stone was incorporated into a new office building on the site. Following redevelopment it was placed in its present location in 2018.
www.londonstone.org.uk
The Stone is not inscribed - the lettering you can see is a reflection from the pavement: "Look both ways".
Site: London stone (2 memorials)
EC4, Cannon Street, 111
Google Street View for June 2016 shows the Stone (well, its cubicle, at least) in the old building. By May 2019 the new building can be seen with a new, very similar, cubicle in an identical position. The Museum of London looked after the Stone and had it on display during the building works.
All this just draws attention to the fact that a near-identical building has replaced the perfectly acceptable 1960s one. It's even the same height, presumably capped by the rules about sight-lines to monuments such as St Paul's Cathedral. In a climate emergency why are we allowing these like-for-like redevelopments, when the existing buildings could be renovated and brought up to present-day specs, without the massive load of embedded carbon?
