Charing Cross is located at the junction of the Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street in Central London, England. The name originates from the cross put there by King Edward I as as a memorial to his wife, Eleanor of Castile at the former hamlet of Charing. Since 1675 the site of the cross has been occupied by a statue of King Charles I mounted on a horse. Charing Cross is officially recognised as the centre of London; distances to London are measured to the location of the original Eleanor cross. Charing Cross is marked on contemporary maps as a road junction, though it was previously also a postal address denoting the stretch of road between Great Scotland Yard and Trafalgar Square. Since 1 January 1931 this section of road has been designated as part of the Whitehall thoroughfare.
