Travel by train to London from anywhere in Northern England and you'll almost certainly arrive at one of three large mainline stations - Euston, St Pancras or Kings Cross. All three are lined up along a short half mile stretch of the Euston Road, built here because back in the 1830s this was the edge of the built-up capital. Look on this 1830 map, for example, and I bet you can spot the prime location on which Eustonstation would be built seven years later. St Pancras station was the last of the three to be built, the Midland Railway knocking down several acres ofmiserableslums to squeeze their tracks through to the booming metropolis. But oh boy, was the resulting building worth the wait!
The Barlow Train Shed (1865): At the time the station's single span roof was the greatest in the world [74m across, 30m high and 213m long] - the widest and largest undivided space ever enclosed. Trains pulled in above street level because the St Pancras railway entered London over the Regent's Canal, whereas the line into Kings Cross burrowed under. This left space for a vaulted undercroft beneath the platforms, with the pillars carefully spaced to allow the storage of three-wide stacks of Burton beer barrels brought in by rail from Staffordshire. [more here, here and here] The Midland Hotel (1873): Gilbert Scott's gothic masterpiece is one of London's greatest architectural treasures. The Midland Railway ran a competition to ensure that their new station's frontage would outshine every other London terminus, and in selecting Scott's extravagant turrety design they were 100% successful. For just 14 shillings a night hotel guests could luxuriate in gold-leafed rooms with lavish furnishings, and perhaps try out the new-fangled hydraulic "ascending chambers" to move between floors. [more here, here, here and here] St Pancras Chambers (1935): The hotel proved to have a limited lifespan, not least because a smoky, sooty station wasn't the perfect location for an opulent overnight stay. The building was turned over to railway offices and left to decay, before a failed fire inspection in 1980 forced its closure. I got to see inside the faded hotel a few years ago as part of Open House weekend(note to self: this year's Open House brochure is published tomorrow). Only a handful of rooms were deemed safe to enter but much of the former detail had survived, and we were allowed to climb the magnificent staircase - a treat denied to current tours (the very last of which takes place in a fortnight's time). [Take a virtual tour here] Eurostar Terminal (2007): Finally, after a century of gradual decline, St Pancras station is being reborn as the London terminus for trains from Paris and beyond. I even got to take a guided tour of the building site last year as part of Open House weekend (note to self: get hold of this year's Open House brochure asap). The platforms are being extended (out over the course of the old river Fleet), the train shed is being restored and the undercroft will be the new Eurostar arrivals hall. Oh, and the hotel's reopening. Let's hope they don't ruin it. [More here, here and here (and on this blog in 2007)]
Reviewing the Fleet
Travel by train to London from anywhere in Northern England and you'll almost certainly arrive at one of three large mainline stations - Euston, St Pancras or Kings Cross. All three are lined up along a short half mile stretch of the Euston Road, built here because back in the 1830s this was the edge of the built-up capital. Look on this 1830 map, for example, and I bet you can spot the prime location on which Euston station would be built seven years later. St Pancras station was the last of the three to be built, the Midland Railway knocking down several acres of miserable slums to squeeze their tracks through to the booming metropolis. But oh boy, was the resulting building worth the wait!
Reviewing the Fleet
Travel by train to London from anywhere in Northern England and you'll almost certainly arrive at one of three large mainline stations - Euston, 