The Hidden History Of King’s Cross: A Self-Guided Walk

King’s Cross is an absolutely fascinating area, packed with history and industrial heritage.

It was once a crucial industrial hub for Victorian London, receiving and distributing goods and coal from the North. After a period of decay and decline after World War Two, it has recently, in the last ten years or so, undergone rapid change and regeneration.

Come on a walk with me around some of the better and lesser known historical sights in the area. This is the route I took, see below for the history behind each stop.

King’s Cross Station

The route begins at King’s Cross Station.

King’s Cross station opened in 1852 and was, at the time, the largest railway station in Britain.

The King’s Cross area, named after a statue of King George IV that had been located at the road crossroads here from 1830-1842, had previously been the site of a smallpox and fever hospital and generally pretty unpleasant.

Prior to that it had been known as Battle Bridge after a crossing here over the now lost River Fleet. Legend has it that the ‘Battle’ bit comes from this having been the location of Boudicca’s battle against the Romans in 60/61AD. There is even an urban myth that she is buried beneath platform 9 or 10 of the station.

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

We make our way over now to the incredible and instantly recognisable neo-gothic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

This Victorian architectural marvel was designed by George Gilbert Scott and acted as a grand frontage onto Euston Road for the new St Pancras station behind, finished in 1865.

The hotel was completed in 1876 and was, at first, known as the Midland Grand Hotel. It closed as a hotel in 1935 due to the high running costs and used as railway offices. In the 1960s National Rail wanted to demolish it but thankfully it was saved after a campaign led by John Betjeman and the Victorian Society.

Since an extensive refurbishment in 2004, there are a number of apartments in the building as well as hotel rooms. There is one even in the iconic clock tower, just below the clock face with 10m high ceilings in the main space. See photos of the inside here.

You can find out more about the history behind the hotel in my blog post here. 

St Pancras Station

We head through St Pancras station now. The station opened in 1865, commissioned by the Midland Railway Company to bring goods and coal into London. Since 2007 it has also of course been the London terminus for the Eurostar. 

Look out for the 9 metre high ‘Lovers Statue’ by Paul Day and the statue of Sir John Betjeman who led the successful campaign to save the station and hotel from demolition in the 1960s.

German Gymnasium

Coming out of St Pancras station on Pancras Road you will come face to face with the German Gymnasium.

Amazingly, when it opened in 1865 this was the first purpose built gymnasium in the country. It was funded by the German Gymnastics Society.

It was used by the National Olympian Association for their first ever Games back in 1866. This purely UK based organisation pre-dates the International Olympic Committee and its first international games in 1896.

Before World War Two the building ceased to be a gymnasium and has been used for various purposes since then. Today it is a German themed restaurant. 

Stanley Buildings

Peek around the side of the German Gymnasium and you still see the Stanley Buildings. These were constructed in 1865 by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company to provide good quality accommodation for workers at King’s Cross.

What you see is the only surviving block of what were once five, built for 104 families. Today it is offices and meeting spaces. 

Granary Square

Heading Northwards we cross over the Regent’s Canal. When the canal opened in 1820, it connected the Kings Cross area to the midlands and was a major trigger for turning this area into an industrial hub. 

You enter the large, open space of Granary Square with its fountains, art installations and benches. It used to look pretty different.

It was actually once a huge basin for loading/unloading barges. The whole complex was completed in 1852, designed by Lewis Cubitt.

The Granary building itself picture above was predominantly used to store wheat for London’s busy bakers. The sheds, either side were used to transfer freight off or onto rail carts. Make sure you spot the old metal railway tracks and turntable outside the Granary Building today. 

The Granary Building today is home to the arts school, Central Saint Martins.

Midland Goods Shed

Follow the tracks round via the canal to see the Midlands Goods Shed.

Built in 1850, it was originally used as a temporary passenger terminal whilst King’s Cross Station was being constructed, before becoming a goods shed. Queen Victoria used it in 1851 to travel up to Scotland.

It is currently being restored to be an events and cultural space. Peer over the edge, down to the canalside, to see the iconic Word on the Water book barge. 

Coal Drops Yard

Follow the route round the back of the granary building and you pop out by Coal Drops Yard. Go inside the side entrance and you will walk past a great scale model of the development.

Constructed in the 1850s, coal would have once arrived here on trains from the North. The structures once carried four high level railway tracks.

The coal was dropped from the trains into storage hoppers, hence coal drops. The coal would then be loaded onto carts or barges to be transported around London and power the Victorian city.

They were later used as warehouses and became well-known in the 1980s and 90s as a location on the London rave scene.

Today it has been developed into a shopping area with restaurants and bars. The upper level is known as ‘the viaduct’ as a reference to its industrial history. 

The Coal Office

Loop back on yourself, along Bagley Park, the raised walkway, past the old coal office buildings. This is where clerks would be based, monitoring the amount of coal coming in and out of the site.

They are officially known as the Fish and Coal Buildings due to the fact that later on staff were based here who distributed the fish arriving into London as well.

Make sure to spot the old Coal Office ghost sign on the side of the building. 

The Canal Towpath

Cut underneath the high walkway onto the canal towpath. You will pass by some plaques and information boards on the history of the area. 

Gasholder Apartments

Towering over the whole site are the old gasholders. Constructed in the 1860s, they were part of the St Pancras gasworks, the largest in London at that time. Gas was manufactured here until the late 20th century. 

The Grade II listed structures have now been restored and transformed into luxury apartments. For those wondering, it looks like a 1 bed apartment currently goes for about £1.2 million.

The Victorian Water Tower

Cross the canal via the Somers Town Bridge, past the St Pancras Lock with its attractive late 19th century lock-keepers cottage. 

You will pass by the lovely little Victorian water tower.

It was constructed in 1872 to supply water to the steam locomotives at the train stations. You may well notice that it has architectural similarities to the St Pancras hotel. This is not just a coincidence, the water tower was also the work of the office of George Gilbert Scott. 

It used to be 700 metres closer to the station but when it was threatened with demolition, due to the Channel Tunnel Rail link, it was moved to its current site in 2001. 

It is used today by the St Pancras Cruising Club and they have open days for the public to look around. Find out more about visiting here.

Camley Street Natural Park

We finish the walk at Camley Street Natural Park. This was once land occupied by more coal drops, owned by the Great Northern Railway Company. From the 1950s they lay derelict and were finally demolished in the 1960s. 

Since 1984, the brownfield ‘wasteland’ site has been given over to nature and is managed today by Wildlife Trust, with a new canal-side cafe. You can read more about the history of Camley Street Natural Park here.

Thank you for joining me, make sure to comment below with your thoughts or feedback if you go on the tour!

Find out more about the history of King’s Cross here.

More London historical sights below…