This is one of a series of posts exploring some of the more obscure parts of London and their past. Some of the photographs will appear in my 2022 calendar which will shortly be on sale. Click here for more information and check back to see when the calendar is available.
The People’s Stone or the Freedom of Speech Stone stands on Hampstead Heath on the climb towards Parliament Hill. I have been unable to find out much about it beyond the fact that it may have once been a place where people congregated to protest or to speak out on controversial matters, a little bit like Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park.
It looks a little like a trig point used to map the area but they would usually be found on higher ground.
Until recently it had “Truth, Love, Peace” painted on it. Not long ago, the word, “Truth” was removed.
Parliament Hill has its own political connections. Parliamentary forces may have grouped here during the Civil War, and it might also have been the spot Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators had intended to watch the Houses of Parliament explode.
