| This is the Conversation Forum for Eleanor Cross, Geddington, UK << Strange... Correction >>
I was once told that the name Charing Cross comes from "chere reine", the French for "dear queen". Over the years "chere reine" became "Charing".
The usual old wives tale about "Chere Reine". Charing is actually a corruption of Ceirring (or similar) and it refers to a bend in the road at Westminster which was a local landmark, used for determining property boundaries. It is referred to in a manuscript of the early C11th (pre-conquest). As this reference predates Eleanor by the best part of 300 years I hope we can now put this silliness to rest. See the book "The Westminster Corridor" (recently published, don't know the author - sorry!) for further info on this subject.
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