Charing Cross: The Forgotten Centre of Britain

For centuries, Charing Cross has been the exact, official centre of Britain — the mile-zero point from which all distances are measured. Today it is better known as a busy London railway station, and its historic significance has been almost entirely forgotten.

This video explores the hidden history of Charing Cross, from the Eleanor Cross and medieval monarchy to civil war, Victorian railways, and modern London. A short historical essay on power, geography, and how the centre of a nation can vanish in plain sight.

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IMAGE CREDITS
Eleanor of Castile: Melesse via Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Eleanor print: © The Trustees of the British Museum 750751001
Edward I: via Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ed...
Replica of effigy of Eleanor of Castile: 14GTR via Wikimedia ...File:Replica_of_effigy_of_Eleanor_of_Castile,_V%26A_London_02.jpg
Lincoln Cathedral: Richard Humphrey via Wikimedia File:Lincoln_Cathedral_-_The_west_front_in_winter_sunlight_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3728684.jpg
Eleanor Cross engraving: via Wikimedia File:William_Wise_-_Charing_Cross_-_B1977.14.15637_-_Yale_Center_for_British_Art.jpg
Eleanor Cross sketch: via Wikimedia File:The_cross_erected_in_memory_of_Queen_Eleanor,_near_Waltham_-_Schnebbelie_del_;_Basire_sc._LCCN2003680016.jpg
Elaenor Cross drawing: © The Trustees of the British Museum 1229227001
Charing Cross map © The Trustees of the British Museum 694823001
Pillory, Charing Cross: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959 File:Pillory,_Charing_Cross_MET_DP880679.jpg
Maps of England circa 1670, Suffolk: Richard via Wikimedia File:Maps_of_England_circa_1670,_Suffolk_34_of_40_(13431701714).jpg
Milestone: Bob Harvey via Wikimedia File:100_miles_to_London_(geograph_3754130).jpg
Civil war painting: John Barker via File:Battle_of_Marston_Moor_1644_by_John_Barker.png
Charles I portrait: National Portrait Gallery, London
Eleanor Cross destruction: © The Trustees of the British Museum 1263480001
Old Whitehall: John Maurer via Wikimedia File:John_Maurer_-_A_Perspective_View_of_Whitehall_-_B1995.13.103_-_Yale_Center_for_British_Art.jpg
King's Mews: © The Trustees of the British Museum 1132187001
SER train: via Wikimedia File:Neilson_and_Company_Glasgow,_South_Eastern_Railway_(SER)_Class_Q,_312_(Ans_05373-0771).jpg
Charing Cross railway line: © The Trustees of the British Museum 1095841001
SER guard: Library of Congress via Wikimedia File:The_head_guard_on_the_South_Eastern_Railway,_1885-The_engine_is_one_of_Richard_Christopher_Mansell%27s_%22Gunboat%22_0-4-4_tanks,_built_for_Greenwich,_Woolrich_and_Blackheath_local_services_LCCN96509035.tif
SER offices: Can Pac Swire via Wikimedia File:South_Eastern_Railway_Offices_at_84_Tooley_Street.jpg
SER steam train: via Wikimedia File:ETHBIB_Bildarchiv_Ans_05373-0870,_Ashford_Locomotive_Works,_South_Eastern_Railway_(SER)_Cudworth_Single_Driver_Mail_Engine_201_Class.jpg
Hungerford Market: © The Trustees of the British Museum 865710001
Charing Cross Railway Station, As Seen From The River: Mason Jackson via Wikimedia File:Charing-cross-station-iln-p164-13-feb-1864.jpg
London and its Environs: via Wikimedia File:Image_taken_from_page_191_of_%27London_and_its_Environs._A_picturesque_survey_of_the_metropolis_and_the_suburbs_..._Translated_by_Henry_Frith._With_..._illustrations%27_(11289658613).jpg
E. M. Barry: The Albert Ten Eyck Gardner Collection, Gift of the Centennial Committee, 1970 via Wikimedia File:Edward_Middleton_Barry_(cropped).jpg
Charing Cross hotel: via Wikimedia File:LONDON_ILLUSTR(1872)_p1.037_HOTEL_AT_CHARING_CROSS.jpg
Charing Cross hotel: Rijksmuseum via Wikimedia File:Charing_Cross_Station_en_Hotel_met_ervoor_de_replica_van_het_Eleanor_cross_in_Londen_Charing_%2B_Hotel_(titel_op_object),_RP-F-F01134-AG.jpg
Charing Cross, 1805: Lockwood via Wikimedia File:Lockwood_-_Charing_Cross_-_ref_9576.jpg
Kings Mews: © The Trustees of the British Museum 1132187001
TrafalgarSquare: © The Trustees of the British Museum 438040001
TrafalgarSquare: © The Trustees of the British Museum 703011001
TrafalgarSquare: © The Trustees of the British Museum 1613917867
TrafalgarSquare: © The Trustees of the British Museum 608146001
Charing Cross station scaffolding: © The Trustees of the British Museum 590787001