Railway Lands - Catching St Pancras and King's Cross

Angela Inglis

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Why I wrote this book

The full colour photographs in this landmark book are a visual timetable of change from the ancient church site of St. Pancras through the unique Victorian complex of canal, rail and horse drawn transport, to the restoration of Barlow’s world famous station shed and the castellated grandeur of St. Pancras Chambers. They set the scene for the opening of St. Pancras International in November 2007, and for the King’s Cross Central Development, the largest in Western Europe. In the churchyard rises the mausoleum built for himself by Sir John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. Nearby is a tombstone to Mary Wolstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. To make room for the coming of the Midland Railway 1866 many graves were shifted under the supervision of Thomas Hardy, then a surveyor, later the novelist. For the same railway construction 4000 homes were demolished and 10,000 people made homeless. But with the railways came a complex of metal and brick buildings, innovative and artistic in their response to the challenge of the industrial revolution. The aspiration of St. Pancras Station and the austere functionality of King’s Cross were set amongst warehouses whose walls formed a curving bank above the Regent’s Canal, and gasholders which framed the changing skies. In time, the railway lands became waste lands, and arches beneath the railway lines, once storage space for coal, became short lease businesses. Conservationists, led by Sir John Betjeman saved St. Pancras Chambers and Station from demolition. The development plans for the railway lands lapsed or were defeated. Local residents were granted a judicial review of the King's Cross Central Development proposal, hoping to preserve Culross and Stanley Buildings North, which they believed would increase the amount of affordable housing, and enhance the development with distinctive heritage. Unfortunately they lost. Will the history in this landscape be respected or asphyxiated?

Synopsis

The full colour photographs in this landmark book are a visual timetable of change from the ancient church site of St. Pancras through the unique Victorian complex of canal, rail and horse drawn transport, to the restoration of Barlow’s world famous station shed and the castellated grandeur of St. Pancras Chambers. They set the scene for the opening of St. Pancras International in November 2007, and for the King’s Cross Central Development, the largest in Western Europe. In the churchyard rises the mausoleum built for himself by Sir John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. Nearby is a tombstone to Mary Wolstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. To make room for the coming of the Midland Railway 1866 many graves were shifted under the supervision of Thomas Hardy, then a surveyor, later the novelist. For the same railway construction 4000 homes were demolished and 10,000 people made homeless. But with the railways came a complex of metal and brick buildings, innovative and artistic in their response to the challenge of the industrial revolution. The aspiration of St. Pancras Station and the austere functionality of King’s Cross were set amongst warehouses whose walls formed a curving bank above the Regent’s Canal, and gasholders which framed the changing skies. In time, the railway lands became waste lands, and arches beneath the railway lines, once storage space for coal, became short lease businesses. Conservationists, led by Sir John Betjeman saved St. Pancras Chambers and Station from demolition. The development plans for the railway lands lapsed or were defeated. Local residents were granted a judicial review of the King's Cross Central Development proposal, hoping to preserve Culross and Stanley Buildings North, which they believed would increase the amount of affordable housing, and enhance the development with distinctive heritage. Unfortunately they lost. Will the history in this landscape be respected or asphyxiated?

Reviews

Malcolm Holmes, Senior Archivist (rtd), Camden Local Studies and Archives:  "Angela has captured the very essence of the St Pancras and King's Cross Landscape, past and present."

London Evening Standard: "The photographs linger in the mind... Every developer should be compelled to create a commemoration like this..."

Deborah Lavin,  local writer:  ‘I am struck by the breadth of Inglis’ explorations, from the close-ups of the original St Pancras Victorian brick and metal work to the glorious panoramas of the otherworld, like gasholders and cranes, against the so-often dramatic King’s Cross skies.’

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