Perched at the foot of Highgate Hill in Archway, stands the Whittington Stone, erected in 1821. This monument, carved from Portland stone, tells the story of Richard Whittington, a medieval merchant and City dignitary who served as Lord Mayor of London three or four times. The stone bears an inscription on its north-east side recounting Whittington's career, while the south-west side contains an inscription that is now almost completely eroded.
The memorial marks the site where a forlorn character of Dick Whittington, returning home after a disastrous attempt to make his fortune in the city, heard the bells of St Mary-le-Bow ring from over four miles away. The sound prophesied his good fortune, leading to the homage, "Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London." A pub next to the stone also bears this name.
Atop the two-segment slab sits a 1964 sculpture of a cat by Jonathan Kenworthy, made of polished-black Kellymount limestone. The stone was restored in 1935, and iron railings with spearhead finials have surrounded the monument since 1972. The stone and railings have held statutory protection as a listed structure since that same year.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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