Charing Cross - Official Use As Central Point

Official Use As Central Point

Since the second half of the 18th century Charing Cross has been seen as the centre of London. From the early 19th century, legislation applicable only to the London metropolis used Charing Cross as a central point to define its geographical scope. Its later use in legislation waned in favour of providing a schedule of local government areas and became mostly obsolete with the official creation of Greater London in 1965.

Use Scope
Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 made provision that all parishes within 12 miles of Charing Cross could be added. This was expanded to 15 miles by the Metropolitan Police Act 1839.
Metropolitan Buildings Office The London Building Act 1844 allowed that any place within 12 miles of Charing Cross could be added to the area of responsibility.
Hackney carriage licensing & The Knowledge The London Hackney Carriage Act 1831 and subsequent legislation set the radius within which cab drivers were obliged to take a fare. Streets within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross are still included in taxi driver training.
Street Trading The Metropolitan Streets Act 1856 gave the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police the power to control various activities within a six mile radius of Charing Cross. Powers to licence shoeblack pitches are still in force but in practice are superseded by individual London boroughs' street trading arrangements.

Prior to the selection of Charing Cross many locations were used. They were Hyde Park Corner, Whitechapel Church, the south side of London Bridge, the south side of Westminster Bridge, Shoreditch Church, Tyburn Turnpike, Holborn Bars, St Giles's Pound, Hick's Hall, the Standard in Cornhill, and the Stones' End in The Borough. Some of these objects had been moved or destroyed with their former locations being used for distances.

Read more about this topic:  Charing Cross

Famous quotes containing the words official, central and/or point:

    I thought it altogether proper that I should take a brief furlough from official duties at Washington to mingle with you here to-day as a comrade, because every President of the United States must realize that the strength of the Government, its defence in war, the army that is to muster under its banner when our Nation is assailed, is to be found here in the masses of our people.
    Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)

    In a large university, there are as many deans and executive heads as there are schools and departments. Their relations to one another are intricate and periodic; in fact, “galaxy” is too loose a term: it is a planetarium of deans with the President of the University as a central sun. One can see eclipses, inner systems, and oppositions.
    Jacques Barzun (b. 1907)

    Our culture still holds mothers almost exclusively responsible when things go wrong with the kids. Sensing this ultimate accountability, women are understandably reluctant to give up control or veto power. If the finger of blame was eventually going to point in your direction, wouldn’t you be?
    Ron Taffel (20th century)