Cannon Street is a road in the south of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, and about 250 metres north of it. It is the site of the ancient London Stone

London Stone

The London Stone is a historic stone that is now set within a Portland stone surround and iron grille on Cannon Street, in the City of London.-Features:...

.

Etymology

The area around Cannon Street was the place of residence of the candle makers and in the Middle Ages the street was known as Candelwrichstrete. The name was shortened several times as a result of the local cockney dialect

Cockney

The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...

 and settled on Cannon Street in the 17th century. Cannon Street in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, according to the archives of Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...

, is named after the City of London street.

Overview

It starts at St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...

, and goes east, meeting Queen Victoria Street

Queen Victoria Street

Queen Victoria Street may refer to one of the following:*Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle*Queen Victoria Street, Hong Kong*Queen Victoria Street, Leeds*Queen Victoria Street, London*Queen Victoria Street, Reading...

 near Mansion House underground station, passing Cannon Street station

Cannon Street station

Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League...

, and finally meeting King William Street

King William Street (London)

King William Street is the name of a street in the City of London, England. It runs from a junction at the Bank of England, meeting Poultry, Lombard Street and Threadneedle Street, south-east, where it meets a junction with Gracechurch and Cannon Street. It continues south after this junction, and...

 and Gracechurch Street

Gracechurch Street

Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....

 near Monument tube station

Bank and Monument stations

Bank and Monument are interlinked London Underground and Docklands Light Railway stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street in the City of London. Bank station, named after the Bank of England, opened in 1900 and is served by the Central, Northern and...

.

In the late 19th century Cannon Street was occupied by large wholesale warehouses, especially of cotton goods and other fabrics.

The London Stone

London Stone

The London Stone is a historic stone that is now set within a Portland stone surround and iron grille on Cannon Street, in the City of London.-Features:...

, from which distances were measured in Roman times, was originally situated in the middle of Cannon Street. It was later set into the wall of St Swithin's Church

St Swithin, London Stone

St Swithin, London Stone was an Anglican Church situated in Cannon Street, City of London. The church gave its name to St Swithin's Lane which runs north from Cannon Street to King William Street....

, and now rests in a case to the side of the street.

It is the street upon which singer Marc Almond

Marc Almond

Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...

 suffered a near fatal crash in 2004 whilst riding pillion on a motorcycle.

Where Queen Street

Queen Street, London

Queen Street is a street in the City of London, which runs from Upper Thames Street north to Cheapside. The thoroughfares of Queen Street and King Street were newly laid out, cutting across more ancient thoroughfares in the City, following the Great Fire of London of 1666; they were the only...

 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.

The Marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 route of the 2012 London Olympics is planned to pass along Cannon Street.