Eleanor of Castille.. died at Harby in Nottinghamshire in 1290 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Crosses were set up at each of the 12 places where her body rested on its journey southwards, of which three survive: at Geddington and Hardingstone (both in Northamptonshire) and Waltham (now Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire).
The cross at Charing, which stood just to the south of what is now Trafalgar Square, was demolished in 1647 and much of its stone was used to pave Whitehall. An equestrian statue of Charles I was erected in its place in 1675 and now marks the exact point from which all distances from London are measured.
The present Gothic cross in the courtyard of Charing Cross station (detail shown above) was designed by Edward Middleton Barry, sculpted by Thomas Earp and erected in 1865.
https://hidden-london.com/nuggets/eleanor-cross/
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