In front of it was the King Charles statue and the ancient cross of
Charing. Close at hand was Northumberland House with its famous
lion overlooking the scene.

This "Golden Cross" was either rebuilt in 1811 or in that year had
its front altered to the Gothic style. Whichever is the case, it
was this Gothic inn that Dickens knew and described in his books.
It was demolished in 1827, or thereabouts, to make room for the
improvements in the neighbourhood which developed, into the
Trafalgar Square we all know to-day. It was then that the present
building, facing Charing Cross Station, was erected, which, also in
its turn, has had a new frontage.

Dickens in his early youth, whilst employed in a blacking warehouse
at Hungerford Stairs and during his youthful wanderings, became
intimately acquainted with the district. When, therefore, in the
early 'thirties he commenced his literary career, he recalled those
early days and placed on permanent record his impressions of what he
then saw, amongst which was the Golden Cross Hotel.

And so we find that in writing the chapter in Sketches by Boz on
"Early Coaches" he chooses the "Golden Cross" of his boyhood for its
chief incident, an incident which no doubt happened to himself in
his early manhood. He had risen early on a certain cold morning to
catch the early coach to Birmingham--perhaps to fulfil one of his
reporting engagements:

"It strikes 5:15," he says, "as you trudge down Waterloo Place on
your way to the 'Golden Cross,' and you discover for the first time
that you were called an hour too early. You have no time to go