Building    From 1290 

Queen Eleanor’s Cross

Categories: Architecture, Royalty

The last of 12 Eleanor Crosses erected to celebrate Eleanor's last journey.

Queen Eleanor of Castile died near Lincoln, with her husband, King Edward I, at her bedside, and was to be buried in Westminster Abbey. The crosses were erected at each of the overnight stops her funeral procession made on the journey, the King accompanying it the whole way.

The Charing Cross, 70 foot high, was the "best" of them all, in size, grandeur and cost. It was marble; the others were stone or wood. It was pulled down by order of Parliament in 1647, when royalty was out of favour. Only three original crosses remain: Geddington, Hardingstone and Waltham Cross.

The current Charing cross, a Victorian Gothic re-imagining by architect Edward Middleton Barry and sculptor Thomas Earp, was erected in 1863-5 by the South Eastern Railway Company when they built Charing Cross Station, as the centrepiece of the hotel forecourt. Drawings and fragments of the original are held by the Museum of London.

Another London Queen Eleanor’s Cross stood in the City at Westcheap - the Museum of London holds some fragments.

See History and Traditions of England and Seiyaku for more information.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Queen Eleanor’s Cross

Commemorated ati

Charing Cross

Around the monument are 8 standing, crowned statues of Eleanor. This is a rec...

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Queen Eleanor's Cross

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Eric Bedford

Eric Bedford

Designed the Post Office Tower. Chief architect for the Ministry of Public Building and Works, 1951 - 1970. Andrew Behan has researched Bedford: Eric Bedford was born on 23 August 1909 in Halifax,...

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H. J. Paull

H. J. Paull

Born Worcester as Henry John Paull. In partnership with Bickerdike 1873-7. His architect son Alan carried on his father's practice. From Manchester Victorian Architects: "... He rarely remained in...

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Charles Heathcote

Charles Heathcote

Architect. Designed many buildings in Manchester- see the Picture source website. Andrew Behan found the photo and has researched this man: Charles Henry Heathcote's birth was registered in the 2n...

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Messrs. Joseph

Messrs. Joseph

Architects who designed the 1935 Brady Settlement building. We wonder if this firm is connected to the Mrs N. S. Joseph who was one of the 1896 founders of the Brady Settlement.

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Temple Bar

Temple Bar

A bar is first mentioned in 1293, when it would have been a simple structure marking one of 8 entrances to the City of London. By this time the City was no longer confined within the London Wall, a...

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