27 Astonishing Things You Didn't Know About London
24. The Charing Cross Memorial Is Actually A Copy (And It's Not Even In The Right Spot)
The memorial in the forecourt of Charing Cross Station is stunning, there's no doubt about that. But it just so happens to be a Victorian replacement for the original. The copy is situated 180 yards away from where it originally stood - that spot is now occupied by a statue of Charles I riding a horse. Charing Cross has nothing to do with Charles I, though. The original memorial was erected in 1290 by the grief-stricken Edward I following the death of his wife, Eleanor of Castile, after 36 years of marriage.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
