124-547: St Pancras railway station ( / ˈ p æ ŋ k r ə s / ), officially known since 2007 as London St Pancras International , is a major central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden . It is the terminus for Eurostar services from Belgium , France and the Netherlands to London. It provides East Midlands Railway services to Leicester , Corby , Derby , Sheffield and Nottingham on
248-465: A carefully staged set piece, the first Class 395 train and two Class 373 trains arrived through a cloud of dry ice in adjacent platforms within seconds of each other. During the ceremony, Paul Day's large bronze statue The Meeting Place was also unveiled. At a much smaller ceremony on 12 November 2007, the bronze statue of John Betjeman by sculptor Martin Jennings was unveiled by Betjeman's daughter,
372-475: A characteristic of Camden's children's health services. Her insider's view was corroboration – in addition to the 2001 "Inequalities" report by Director of Public Health Maggie Barker of "stark contrasts in" health and education opportunities – of earlier similar Audit Commission findings and a verification/update of the 1999 CNJ report. The following table shows the ethnic demographics in Camden. The following shows
496-572: A connection to Australia and Scandinavia. The following year, the LTSR began a service from St Pancras to Southend Central . Boat trains continued to run from St Pancras until 1963, after which they were moved to Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street. The Railways Act 1921 forced the merger of the Midland with the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and
620-603: A flat fare of 1/- (£4.29 as of 2023). These were suspended during World War II . All stations except Fenchurch Street and Blackfriars provided integrated taxi services on opening. These originally had dedicated access roads to the station platforms when cabs were horse-drawn, while later purpose-built roads were built for road traffic. In the early 20th century, stations were expanded and upgraded to fit demand. Six terminal stations (Victoria, Waterloo, Euston, Cannon Street, Blackfriars and London Bridge) have been completely rebuilt and London Bridge has seen multiple rebuilds. Although
744-640: A journey from Brighton cannot use a "London Terminals" ticket to travel to Euston or Paddington, as there is no permitted route to them using National Rail services alone. The concept of permitted routes did not exist until the National Routeing Guide was introduced: British Rail used the term "reasonable route", and in respect of the London station group merely stated that journeys between the origin station and London were "subject to normal route availabilities". The first London terminal stations were built in
868-480: A main central station at Farringdon , which would connect out to all branch lines. In 1846, the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini was established to see if it was appropriate to bring the terminal stations any further and possibly connect with each other, as per Pearson's plans. The report concluded this was unnecessary, a single terminal was undesirable as it would create too much congestion and it
992-751: A major regeneration of the area has occurred with the King's Cross Central development happening behind the station. London Overground 's North London Line services run through the borough serving Camden Road , Kentish Town West , Gospel Oak , Hampstead Heath , Finchley Road & Frognal and West Hampstead . London Overground also operates the Watford DC Line services from Euston serving South Hampstead , trains continue to Watford in Hertfordshire . Thameslink route services serve St Pancras , Kentish Town and West Hampstead Thameslink stations. Currently
1116-424: A much larger presence of British Transport Police (BTP) than many other London boroughs. BTP are responsible for policing Great Britain's railway network. The area has three fire stations: Euston, Kentish Town and West Hampstead and they are operated by London Fire Brigade in the borough of Camden. None of these fire stations are home to any specialist units; only pumping appliances and a rescue tender. Camden
1240-544: A reputation of having one of the most recognisable facades of all the London termini, and known as the "cathedral of the railways". In Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins , the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars. The station has bilingual signs in French and English , one of the few in England to do so. It was considered Europe's most passenger-friendly railway station in an index created in 2020 by
1364-522: A single-span roof. At 689 feet (210 m) by 240 feet (73.2 m) wide, and 100 feet (30.5 m) high, it was then the largest enclosed space in the world. Following the station's opening 1 October 1868, the MR built the Midland Grand Hotel on the station's façade. George Gilbert Scott won the competition to design it, with an ornate Gothic red-brick scheme. St Pancras has been widely praised for its architecture and
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#17328518135801488-469: A ticket to take a train to several different London terminals, including London Bridge , London Charing Cross , London Cannon Street , Victoria , Blackfriars , City Thameslink or Waterloo via Clapham Junction . The ticket cannot be used to travel to any station using any non-National Rail modes of transport, including the London Underground , Docklands Light Railway or London Buses . Therefore,
1612-471: A tunnel from south-east of London to an underground terminus in the vicinity of King's Cross. However, a late change of plan, principally driven by the then Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine 's desire for urban regeneration in east London, led to a change of route, with the new line approaching London from the east. This opened the possibility of reusing St Pancras as
1736-671: Is at the southern end of the London Borough of Camden on a site orientated north–south, deeper than it is wide. The south is bounded by Euston Road (part of the London Inner Ring Road ), and its frontage is the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel , while the west is bounded by Midland Road, which separates it from the British Library and Francis Crick Institute , and the east by Pancras Road, which separates it from King's Cross station . The British Library
1860-471: Is intended to terminate at Euston Station. The proposed Crossrail 2 line, (originally referred to as the Chelsea–Hackney line) would serve Euston and Tottenham Court Road underground stations. The increase in passengers at Euston as a result of the proposed High Speed 2 services is a major driver of the proposals. The formerly proposed Cross River Tram was going to start in the borough of Camden but
1984-459: Is now a Grade I listed building . St Pancras came under threat during the 20th century; damaged in both World War I and World War II by bombs, and then in the late 1960s by plans to demolish it entirely and divert services to King's Cross and Euston . A passionate campaign to save the station, led by the Victorian Society , Jane Hughes Fawcett , and Poet Laureate John Betjeman ,
2108-459: Is on the former goods yard site. Euston railway station is around ten minutes' walk away along Euston Road. Behind the hotel, the train shed is elevated 5 m (17 ft) above street level and the area below forms the station undercroft which is where most of the shops and restaurants are located, along with the Eurostar departure lounge. The northern half of the station is mainly bounded to
2232-498: Is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service . There are two police stations across the borough, situated at Holborn and Kentish Town . There are various other contact points around the borough including West Hampstead, Greenland Road, Highgate Road, Station House (Swiss Cottage), West End Lane , Hampstead Town Hall and Kingsway College. All locations have varying opening hours with Kentish Town Police Station open to
2356-467: Is served by 18 London Underground stations and 8 of the 11 lines. The three major rail termini are served by two underground stations, Euston and the combined King's Cross St Pancras station. Between them, the termini are served by the Circle , Hammersmith & City , Metropolitan , Northern , Piccadilly and Victoria lines. The Central and Jubilee lines serve other parts of the borough, as does
2480-426: Is the home of the British Library . In addition, Camden has numerous libraries which include: As well as a number of community libraries including Keats community library. There are no motorways in the borough, and few stretches of dual carriageway road, but the borough has great strategic transport significance to London, due to presence of three of the capital's most important rail termini, which are lined up along
2604-554: Is the local education authority for the borough, organised through the Children, Schools and Families directorate. Some of London's best universities and teaching institutions are located in the Borough of Camden. They include the main campus of University College London , part of the campus of the London School of Economics near Lincoln's Inn Fields, and Central Saint Martins . Camden
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#17328518135802728-458: The Abercrombie Plan for London (1944). As industry declined during the 1970s the population continued to decline, falling to 161,100 at the start of the 1980s. It has now begun to rise again with new housing developments on brownfield sites and the release of railway and gas work lands around Kings Cross . A 2017 study found that the eviction rate of 6 per 1,000 renting households in Camden is
2852-487: The Elizabeth line . As well as the two major termini stations, the borough's other stations are: Euston Square , Warren Street , Goodge Street , Tottenham Court Road , Holborn , Russell Square , Chancery Lane , Mornington Crescent , Camden Town , Chalk Farm , Belsize Park , Hampstead , West Hampstead , Finchley Road , Swiss Cottage and Kentish Town . The proposed High Speed 2 railway line to northern England
2976-556: The Euston Road . The position of the railway termini on Euston Road, rather than in a more central position further south, is a result of the influential recommendations of the 1846 Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini that sought to protect the West End districts a short distance south of the road. Three of the fourteen central London's railway terminals are located in the borough. Euston , St Pancras and Kings Cross are
3100-496: The Great Eastern Railway and North London Railway with Liverpool Street and Broad Street respectively. The only main railway line built across Central London was the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) line connecting Blackfriars to Farringdon via Snow Hill Tunnel in 1866. Railway construction in London reached a peak between the mid-1850s and 1870s, where an estimated £40 million (£4,691 million as of 2023)
3224-642: The Great Northern Railway (GNR). In 1862, traffic for the second International Exhibition suffered extensive delays over the stretch of line into London over the GNR's track; the route into the city via the L&;NWR was also at capacity, with coal trains causing the network at Rugby and elsewhere to reach effective gridlock. This was the stimulus for the MR to build its own line to London from Bedford, which would be just under 50 miles (80 km) long. Samuel Carter
3348-559: The Midland Main Line , Southeastern high-speed trains to Kent via Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International , and Thameslink cross-London services to Bedford , Cambridge , Peterborough , Brighton , Horsham and Gatwick Airport . It stands between the British Library , the Regent's Canal and London King's Cross railway station , with which it shares a London Underground station, King's Cross St Pancras . The station
3472-459: The Midland Main Line , while platforms 5–13 lead to High Speed 1 ; there is no connection between the two lines, except for a maintenance siding outside the station. There are also a variety of shops and restaurants within the station concourse. The longer international platforms, used by Eurostar, extend into Barlow's train shed, whilst the other platforms terminate at the southern end of the 2005 extension. The international platforms do not occupy
3596-532: The Snow Hill tunnel re-opened resulting in the creation of the Thameslink route and the resultant diversion of the majority of suburban trains to the new route. The station continued to be served by trains running on the Midland mainline to Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield, together with a few suburban services to Bedford and Luton. These constituted only a few trains an hour and left the station underused. Following
3720-493: The privatisation of British Rail , the long-distance services from St Pancras were franchised to Midland Mainline , a train operating company owned by National Express , starting on 28 April 1996. The few remaining suburban trains still operating into St Pancras were operated by the Thameslink train operating company, owned by Govia , from 2 March 1997. A small number of trains to and from Leeds were introduced, mainly because
3844-534: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link works did not include work on the fitting out of the station, as these works had originally been part of the separate Thameslink 2000 works programme. Despite lobbying by rail operators who wished to see the station open at the same time as St Pancras International, the Government failed to provide additional funding to allow the fit-out works to be completed immediately following
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3968-618: The Consumer Choice Center. From December 2018, as part of the Thameslink programme, services from the East Coast Main Line/ Great Northern Route , also part of the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, were linked to the Thameslink route, diverting trains previously terminating at Kings Cross into the Thameslink platforms at St Pancras and then through central London to Sussex and Kent. This link
4092-580: The High Speed 1 service was launched on 6 November 2007 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . Services were extended to Rotterdam and Amsterdam in April 2018. During an elaborate opening ceremony, actor Timothy West , as Henry Barlow, addressed the audience, which was also entertained by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the singers Lemar and Katherine Jenkins . In
4216-642: The High-Speed Train sets were maintained there and were already running empty north of Sheffield. During the 2000s major rebuild of the West Coast Main Line, St Pancras again temporarily hosted direct and regular inter-city trains to Manchester, this time via the Hope Valley route (via the Dore South curve) under the title of Project Rio . The original plan for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) involved
4340-484: The LCDR's line via Blackfriars and Farringdon almost bankrupted the company and left it in financial ruin for the rest of its existence. The 1864 Joint Committee on Railway Schemes (Metropolis) decided that, following the success of the underground Metropolitan Railway , that a circular railway should be built to connect the terminals, which eventually became the Circle line , though it was not completed until 1884. By 1870,
4464-519: The LMS adopted the LNWR's (the "Premier Line") Euston station as its principal London terminus. The Midland Grand Hotel was closed in 1935, and the building was subsequently used as offices for British Railways . During World War II , bombing inflicted damage on the train shed, which was only partially reglazed after the war. On the night of 10–11 May 1941 a bomb fell onto the station floor at platform 3, exploding in
4588-428: The London area services to North Woolwich, St Albans and Bedford. Long-distance trains reached Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester, with famous named trains including The Palatine to Manchester, The Thames-Clyde Express to Glasgow, and The Master Cutler to Sheffield (transferred from King's Cross in 1966, which itself had transferred from Marylebone eight years earlier). On 7 October 1957,
4712-606: The London termini for the West Coast , Midland and East Coast Main Lines and also High Speed 1 . This connects the borough with the East of England , East Midlands , West Midlands , North East & West England, North Wales, Scotland, South East England , France , Belgium and the Netherlands . Since 14 November 2007 when St Pancras International became the new terminus of Eurostar ,
4836-454: The London tunnel. On 4 September 2007, the first test train ran from Paris Gare du Nord to St Pancras. Children's illustrator Quentin Blake was commissioned to provide a huge mural of an "imaginary welcoming committee" as a disguise for one of the remaining ramshackle Stanley Building South immediately opposite the station exit. St Pancras was officially re-opened as St Pancras International, and
4960-423: The MR, as the major routes to Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Carlisle opened during this time. By 1902, there were 150 trains arriving and leaving the station daily, though this was far less than at Waterloo or Liverpool Street. As well as Midland services, the Great Eastern Railway (GER) used St Pancras as a " West End " terminus for trains to Great Yarmouth , Norwich , Lowestoft between 1870 and 1917. At
5084-549: The Midland Main Line to the St. Pancras branch. Instead, due to the value of the land in such a location the lower area was used for freight, in particular beer from Burton . As a result, the undercroft was built with columns and girders, maximising space, set out to the same plans as those used for beer warehouses, and with a basic unit of length that of a beer barrel. The contract to build the station substructure and connecting lines
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5208-656: The N1, N6, N7, N19, NW1, NW2, NW3, NW5, NW6, NW8, EC1, WC1, WC2, W1 and W9 postcode areas. For planning policy purposes, the London Plan places Camden in the 'Central London' group of boroughs. The local authority is Camden Council, which meets at Camden Town Hall (formerly St Pancras Town Hall) in Judd Street in St Pancras , and has its headquarters at 5 Panrcas Square. Borough councillors are elected every four years. Since May 2022
5332-624: The Thameslink network is undergoing a major expansion project called the Thameslink Programme . This will link more places in Southern England to the borough and to the East of England. While some services on the Great Northern network, which currently terminate at King's Cross will be diverted onto the Thameslink network, all work is due to be complete by 2016. The London Borough of Camden
5456-489: The United Kingdom . In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century as the district became built up, reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth slowed, for while many people were drawn in by new employment, others were made homeless by
5580-404: The areas around them. Both Kings Cross and St Pancras stations have been modernised in the 21st century, and are now better regarded. Many goods sheds have been removed, and the area surrounding the stations includes a natural swimming pool, and numerous new apartments. The four former London and North Eastern Railway terminals (King's Cross, Marylebone, Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street) are
5704-486: The author Candida Lycett Green . Public service by Eurostar train via High Speed 1 started on 14 November 2007. In a small ceremony, station staff cut a ribbon leading to the Eurostar platforms. In the same month, services to the East Midlands were transferred to a new franchisee, East Midlands Trains . The low-level Thameslink platforms opened on 9 December 2007, replacing King's Cross Thameslink. St Pancras has retained
5828-426: The beer vaults underneath. The station was not significantly damaged, but was closed for eight days, with platforms 2–3 remaining closed until June. In 1947 the St. Pancras junction was relaid with prefabricated trackwork, along with associated changes to the signalling system. On the creation of British Railways (BR) in 1948, St Pancras received a significant investment after neglect by the LMS. Destinations included
5952-527: The boom in building London terminals had finished. The final one to open was the Great Central Railway 's Marylebone , in 1899. By this time, around 776 acres (1.21 square miles; 3.14 square kilometres), or 5.4% of land in the central zone of London was owned by railway companies, more than the Corporation of London . The problem of connecting the various London terminals was ultimately resolved by
6076-479: The core area of Fitzrovia and a part of Highgate . In the south, the old Borough of Holborn was formed from the combined parish of Bloomsbury and St Giles , and most of the parish of Holborn (with the remaining part in the ancient Farringdon Without ward of the City of London ). The economy and land uses of the West End and other southern parts of the borough reflect their more central location. Camden has
6200-700: The county of Middlesex . From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works , which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London . From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards . The ancient parishes of Hampstead and St Pancras were each governed by their vestry . The various smaller parishes and territories to
6324-466: The development of the Underground. The Metropolitan Railway, which opened in 1863, was designed to connect Paddington with King's Cross. The Circle Line was designed specifically to connect the London terminals together. All terminal stations had at least one underground connection by 1913, except Fenchurch Street , Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct . As an alternative to the tube, buses have connected
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#17328518135806448-515: The east by Camley Street, with Camley Street Natural Park across the road. To the north-east is King's Cross Central , formerly known as the Railway Lands, a complex of intersecting railway lines crossed by several roads and the Regent's Canal . Several London bus routes have stops nearby, including 73 , 205 and 390 . The station's name comes from the St. Pancras parish, whose name originates from
6572-471: The eastern part of the extension immediately adjacent to the entrance. As part of the construction of the western side of the new train shed that now began, an underground "box" was constructed to house new platforms for Thameslink, which at this point ran partially under the extended station. In order for this to happen, the existing Thameslink tunnels between Kentish Town and King's Cross Thameslink were closed between 11 September 2004 and 15 May 2005 while
6696-570: The electoral wards in Camden are: Since 2000, Camden forms part of the Barnet and Camden London Assembly constituency, represented by Anne Clarke of the Labour Party. There are two parliamentary constituencies covering Camden: Hampstead and Kilburn in the north, represented by Labour's Tulip Siddiq , and Holborn and St. Pancras in the south, represented by Keir Starmer , the Prime Minister of
6820-413: The former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn , St Pancras and Hampstead . To the south it shares with the City of Westminster parts of the West End , where it also borders the City of London . The cultural and commercial land uses in the south contrast with the bustling mixed-use districts such as Camden Town and Kentish Town in the centre and leafy residential areas around Hampstead Heath in
6944-569: The fourth-century Christian boy martyr Pancras of Rome . The station was commissioned by the Midland Railway (MR), who had a network of routes in the Midlands and in south and west Yorkshire and Lancashire, but no route of its own to London. Before 1857 the MR used the lines of the L&NWR for trains into the capital; subsequently, the company's Leicester and Hitchin Railway gave access to London via
7068-463: The full width of the Barlow train shed, and sections of the floor area have been opened up to provide natural light to the new ground-level concourse below. Eurostar's arrival and departure lounges lie below these platforms, adjacent to The Arcade , a concourse fashioned from the original station undercroft which runs along the western length of the Barlow train shed. The southern end of The Arcade links to
7192-497: The group fall within London fare zone 1 . A ticket marked "London Terminals" allows travel to any station in the group via any permitted route, as determined by the National Routeing Guide . Most London terminal stations were developed in the mid-19th century during the initial boom of rail transport. Many stations were built around the edge of central London, stopping at what is now the London Inner Ring Road , because it
7316-632: The group includes four stations ( City Thameslink , Old Street , Vauxhall and Waterloo East ) that are not technically terminals but are used enough as a destination by National Rail to be considered appropriate as a "London Terminal" for ticketing purposes. The composition of the group has changed several times since 1983, when 18 stations were included: Blackfriars, Broad Street, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Euston, Fenchurch Street, Holborn Viaduct, Kings Cross, Kings Cross Midland City, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Marylebone, Moorgate, Paddington, St Pancras, Vauxhall, Victoria and Waterloo. Waterloo East
7440-523: The late 1830s (starting with London Bridge in 1836) and the early to mid 1840s. Those north of the Thames came up to the edge of richly-developed property that was too expensive to demolish, while property south of the river contained slums and cheap property, making it easier to have terminal stations close to the City and West End, both the main desired areas. The solicitor and railway planner Charles Pearson proposed
7564-532: The less densely developed areas of Hampstead , Hampstead Heath and Kentish Town. There are a number of Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Camden . Neighbouring boroughs are the City of Westminster and the City of London to the south, Brent to the west of the originally Roman Watling Street (now the A5 Road) , Barnet and Haringey to the north and Islington to the east. It covers all or part of
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#17328518135807688-515: The line blockade. Eventually, on 8 February 2006, Alistair Darling , the Secretary of State for Transport, announced £50 million funding for the fit-out of the station, plus another £10–15 million for the installation of associated signalling and other lineside works. The fit-out works were designed by Chapman Taylor and Arup (Eurostar) and completed by ISG Interior Plc Contractors collaborating with Bechtel as Project Managers. The client
7812-521: The lowest rate in London. The 2001 census gave Camden a population of 198,000, an undercount that was later revised to 202,600. The latest ONS projection puts the 2019 population at 270,000. On 20 May 1999, the Camden New Journal newspaper documented 'Two Camdens' syndrome as a high-profile phenomenon differentiating the characteristics of education services in its constituencies. In 2006, Dame Julia Neuberger's book reported similar variation as
7936-437: The main motivation for the London extension, the Midland realised the prestige of having a central London passenger terminus and decided it must have a front on Euston Road. The company purchased the eastern section of land on the road's north side owned by Earl Somers . The passenger station was designed by William Henry Barlow and constructed on a site that had previously been a slum called Agar Town . The approach line to
8060-482: The modern concept of listed buildings had been introduced with the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act 1947 , stations were not high priority to be listed. While some had impressive facades and entrances, Victorian stations were not looked upon favourably in the 1960s and had become gradually neglected. One of the most significant examples was the demolition of the Euston Arch in 1962 as part of modernisation works to
8184-517: The name "LONDON BRIT RAIL" was adopted. After the privatisation of British Rail , the name "LONDON" on its own was used from the end of 1997 until April 1998, when the present designation "LONDON TERMINALS" was introduced. All stations in the London group are in London fare zone 1 and most are at the end of a railway line. This includes major national terminals such as Waterloo , Paddington , Euston and King's Cross , and local commuter terminals such as Cannon Street and Moorgate . In addition,
8308-472: The naming of the new boroughs suggested that the chosen name should be short and simple, and ideally one that was generally associated with the centre of the new Borough. The name "Camden" met those criteria. The name "Camden Town" was derived from Camden Place, the seat of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden who had owned and developed land in the area in the 1790s. The transcribed diaries of William Copeland Astbury, recently made available, describe Camden and
8432-511: The network; the first London terminal, London Bridge has been rebuilt and expanded on numerous occasions, and of the major 19th century terminals, only Broad Street and Holborn Viaduct have closed. The latter was replaced by the nearby City Thameslink . The London terminals had a significant impact on the local area. Originally, the demolition of poor properties, particularly south of the River Thames , caused blight and deprived areas around
8556-420: The new central London termini and construction of lines through the district. The population peaked at 376,500 in the 1890s, after which official efforts began to clear the overcrowded slums around St Pancras and Holborn . After World War II , further suburban public housing was built to rehouse the many Londoners made homeless in the Blitz , and there was an exodus from London towards the new towns under
8680-405: The north. Well known attractions include The British Museum , The British Library , the famous views from Parliament Hill , the London Zoo , the BT Tower , the converted Roundhouse entertainment venue, and Camden Market . As of 2021 it has a population of 210,136. Politically, its local authority is Camden London Borough Council . The area of the modern borough had historically been part of
8804-443: The office blocks that replaced the Euston Arch. The station offices in the listed former Midland Grand Hotel building were subsequently refurbished in 1993, including a new roof with 275 tonnes of Westmorland Green slate. After the sectorisation of British Rail in 1986, main-line services to the East Midlands were provided by the InterCity sector, with suburban services to St Albans, Luton and Bedford by Network SouthEast . In 1988
8928-559: The public on a 24-hour basis. Hampstead Heath , situated within the London Borough of Camden and managed by the City of London Corporation , has its own Constabulary who deal with everyday incidents on the Heath, however, all serious criminal offences are passed to the Metropolitan Police to investigate. With a large London Underground network and major railway stations such as King's Cross , St Pancras and Euston , Camden also has
9052-398: The rebuilding of Euston and the consolidation of these services. By the 1960s, St Pancras was seen as redundant, and several attempts were made to close it and demolish the hotel (by then known as St Pancras Chambers). These attempts provoked strong and successful opposition, with the campaign led by the later Poet Laureate , John Betjeman . Jane Hughes Fawcett with the Victorian Society
9176-476: The reconstruction was Alistair Lansley , a former colleague of Nick Derbyshire recruited by RLE. To accommodate 300-metre+ Eurostar trains , and to provide capacity for the existing trains to the Midlands and the new Kent services on the high-speed rail link, the train shed was extended a considerable distance northwards by a new flat-roofed shed. The station was initially planned to have 13 platforms under this extended train shed. East Midlands services would use
9300-485: The religious identity of residents residing in Camden according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses. London is well known for its greenery and the Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Camden make an important contribution to this. Hampstead Heath is well known for its view over London, notably from Parliament Hill, its wild nature and its Hampstead Heath Ponds . Camden shares Regents Park with Westminster and
9424-465: The roof interfering with the space beneath, and to simplify the design, and minimise cost, it was decided to construct a single span roof, with cross ties for the arch at the station level. The arch was sprung directly from the station level, with no piers. Additional advice on the design of the roof was given to Barlow by Rowland Mason Ordish . The arches' ribs had a web depth of 6 ft (1.8 m), mostly open ironwork. The span width, from wall to wall
9548-503: The seventh largest economy in the UK with a number of major companies headquartered in the borough; Google is in the process of completing a major headquarter building in King's Cross. Camden Town Brewery is among the newer businesses that have thrived in the borough. In the far south of the borough, Lincoln's Inn Fields is within 500 metres of the Thames. The northern part of the borough includes
9672-469: The signalling at St Pancras was upgraded, replacing the three original boxes with a power box controlling 205 route switches and 33 points over a network of 1,400 relays. From 1960 to 1966, electrification work on the West Coast Main Line between London and Manchester saw a new Midland Pullman from Manchester to St Pancras. These trains and those to Glasgow were withdrawn following the completion of
9796-675: The south were grouped into the St Giles District and Holborn District , each governed by a district board. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs , including the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead , the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras (each covering the parish of the same name) and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn , covering the combined area of the former St Giles District and Holborn District (subject to some boundary adjustments with neighbours on its south-eastern edges). The London borough of Camden
9920-421: The station by a new concourse at its north end. This original design was later modified, with access to the Eurostar platforms from below, using the station undercroft and allowing the deletion of the visually intrusive bridge. By dropping the extension of any of the Midland platforms into the train shed, space was freed up to allow wells to be constructed in the station floor, which provided daylight and access to
10044-476: The station crossed the Regent's Canal at a height allowing the line reasonable gradients; this resulted in the level of the line at St Pancras being 20 ft (6 m) above the ground level. (By contrast, the lines to the adjacent King's Cross station tunnel under the Regent's Canal.) Initial plans were for a two or three span roof with the void between station and ground level filled with spoil from tunnelling to join
10168-491: The station, while the area around Kings Cross became run-down. An important exception was the Victorian Gothic structure of St Pancras , which became a Grade I listed building in 1967 after being threatened with demolition. Similarly, King's Cross and Paddington became Grade I listed in 1954 and 1961 respectively. In 1986, Broad Street, which had been a major London terminal for local and commuter services, closed. It
10292-406: The station. The design and project management of reconstruction was undertaken on behalf of LCR by Rail Link Engineering (RLE), a consortium of Bechtel , Arup , Systra and Halcrow . The original reference design for the station was by Nick Derbyshire , former head of British Rail's in-house architecture team. The master plan of the complex was by Foster and Partners , and the lead architect of
10416-555: The station. This has changed in the 21st century, where development around the main terminals has been well-received and attracted occupants and businesses. Until 1970, railway tickets to London were issued to a specific named terminal. From April of that year, Southern Region terminals were grouped together as a "notional common station" called "LONDON S.R."; tickets issued to this destination were valid to Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Holborn Viaduct, London Bridge, Vauxhall, Victoria, Waterloo and Waterloo East. The concept
10540-474: The stations on a standard British Monopoly board. Download coordinates as: Notes Citations Sources London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden ( / ˈ k æ m d ə n / ) is a borough in Inner London , England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies 1.4 mi (2.3 km) north of Charing Cross . The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from
10664-525: The surrounding areas in great detail from 1829 to 1848. There are 162 English Heritage blue plaques in the borough of Camden representing the many diverse personalities that have lived there. The area of the old parish and borough of Hampstead in the north-west includes Belsize Park and part of Kilburn . The old parish and borough of St Pancras , which occupies most of the modern borough, includes Camden Town , Kentish Town , Gospel Oak , Somers Town , King's Cross , Chalk Farm , Dartmouth Park ,
10788-599: The terminus, with access via the North London Line , which crosses the throat of the station. The idea of using the North London line was rejected in 1994 by the transport secretary , John MacGregor , as "difficult to construct and environmentally damaging". However, the idea of using St Pancras station as the terminus was retained, albeit now linked by 12.4 miles (20 km) of new tunnels to Dagenham via Stratford . London and Continental Railways (LCR), created at
10912-508: The time of British Rail privatisation, was selected by the government in 1996 to reconstruct St Pancras, build the CTRL, and take over the British share of the Eurostar operation. LCR had owned St Pancras station since privatisation to allow the station to be redeveloped. Financial difficulties in 1998, and the collapse of Railtrack in 2001, caused some revision of this plan, but LCR retained ownership of
11036-532: The time the station was built, which was eventually cleared away in 1867 when the London and South Western Railway made a compulsory purchase order for the properties and demolished them, to accommodate an expanded station. A significant exception was the later-constructed Marylebone, while Charing Cross was less affected by slum building than neighbouring stations. Around Battersea and New Cross , railway lines and interchanges occupied about 300 acres (120 ha) of available space. The low-income property that
11160-549: The time, the name "Camden" was the idea of Alderman Room, the Leader of Hampstead Council, and Mr Wilson, the Town Clerk, while travelling in a taxi through Camden Town . The name "Fleet" had also been suggested, after the underground river that flowed through the three boroughs, but that was rejected as the river was little more than a sewer. Other suggestions included "Penhamborn", 'Bornhamcras" and "Hohampion". Government guidelines for
11284-527: The turn of the 20th century, St Pancras had a faster service to Cambridge than from King's Cross, at 71 minutes. GER services were suspended because of World War I and never resumed. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) began boat train services from St Pancras from 9 July 1894, following the opening of the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway . The trains ran from St Pancras to Tilbury via South Tottenham and Barking . Tilbury Docks then provided
11408-488: The undercroft. The reconstruction of the station was recorded in the BBC Television documentary series The Eight Hundred Million Pound Railway Station broadcast as six 30-minute episodes between 13‒28 November 2007. By early 2004, the eastern side of the extended train shed was complete, and the Barlow train shed was closed to trains. From 12 April 2004, Midland Mainline trains terminated at an interim station occupying
11532-640: The various terminals. In 1928, the Southern Railway , London and North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway began to provide dedicated buses between their terminals for Pullman and Continental trains. These were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) upon its formation in 1933, and replaced with regular bus services. From 1936, the LPTB supplied purpose-build 20-seater coaches for this services, with large luggage boots and
11656-511: The views from Primrose Hill are famous. The Borough of Camden is home to a large number of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Over recent years, a number of significant institutions have moved into the borough or are planning to do so. The included Central Saint Martins , the Francis Crick Institute , as well as the planned move by Moorfields Eye Hospital , recently unveiled as Project Oriel. The London Borough of Camden
11780-579: The wall of his barn where it still kept good time. Decades later during the stations renewal as 'St Pancras International', Dent of London were able to create an exact replica of the clock by using the original as a template. Hoggard was invited to the 2007 grand re-opening of St Pancras, and able to see the impressive new clock installed exactly where the original had been. Also in 1978, a Private Eye piece claimed that British Rail really wanted to demolish St Pancras but were opposed by "a lot of long-haired sentimentalists" and "faceless bureaucrats" and praised
11904-436: The western platforms, Eurostar services the middle platforms, and Kent services the eastern platforms. The Eurostar platforms and one of the Midland platforms would extend back into the Barlow train shed. Access to Eurostar for departing passengers would be via a departure suite on the west of the station, and then to the platforms by a bridge above the tracks within the historic train shed. Arriving Eurostar passengers would leave
12028-522: The western ticket hall of King's Cross St Pancras tube station . London station group The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London , England. The group contains all 14 terminal stations in central London, either serving major national services or local commuter routes, and 4 other through-stations that are considered terminals for ticketing purposes. All current stations in
12152-436: The works were carried out. Thameslink services from the north terminated in the same platforms as the Midland Main Line trains, while services from the south terminated at King's Cross Thameslink. When the lines were re-opened, the new station box was still only a bare concrete shell and could not take passengers. Thameslink trains reverted to their previous route but ran through the station box without stopping. The budget for
12276-426: The world renown Dent the unique time-piece was financially valuable, but during removal it was somehow dropped, shattering on the floor below. Now worth far less money, it was sold to Roland Hoggard, a train-guard nearing retirement, for £25. It took over a week for Hoggard to transport the giant broken clock, a few parts at a time, to his Nottinghamshire home, where he diligently pieced it all back together, to hang on
12400-445: Was 245 ft 6 in (74.83 m), with a rib every 29 ft 4 in (8.94 m). The arch was a slightly pointed design, with a reduced radius of curvature at the springing points. The Butterley Company was contracted to construct the arches. The total cost of the 24 rib roof and glazing was over £53,000, of which over half was for the main ribs. The cost of the gable end was a further £8,500. The single-span overall roof
12524-463: Was 689 feet (210 m) long, 240 feet (73.2 m) wide, and 100 feet (30.5 m) high at the apex above the tracks. Local services began running to the Metropolitan Railway junction underneath the terminus on 13 July 1868. The station itself opened to the public on 1 October. The first service was an overnight mail train from Leeds. St Pancras was built during a period of expansion for
12648-423: Was London and Continental Railways who were advised by Hitachi Consulting . In 2005, planning consent was granted for a refurbishment of the former Midland Grand Hotel building, with plans to refurbish and extend it as a hotel and apartment block. The newly refurbished hotel opened to guests on 21 March 2011 with a grand opening ceremony on 5 May. By the middle of 2006, the western side of the train shed extension
12772-440: Was available, creating slums, and the immediate area around the stations were filled with cheap souvenir shops and prostitutes. Conversely, the middle class moved out into suburbs which now had easy access to Central London via train, and railway traffic increased. Around 76,000 people lost their homes between 1853 and 1901 as a direct result of rail expansion. The area around Waterloo had already become notorious for prostitution by
12896-408: Was completed. The rebuilding cost was in the region of £800 million, up from an initial estimate of £310 million. In early November 2007, Eurostar conducted a testing programme in which some 6000 members of the public were involved in passenger check-in, immigration control and departure trials, during which the "passengers" each made three return journeys out of St Pancras to the entrance to
13020-409: Was constructed by the Midland Railway (MR), to connect its extensive rail network, across the Midlands and North of England , to a dedicated line into London. After rail traffic problems following the 1862 International Exhibition , the MR decided to build a connection from Bedford to London with its own terminus. The station was designed by William Henry Barlow , with wrought iron pillars supporting
13144-457: Was constructed for Eurostar services to mainland Europe via High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel , with platforms for domestic trains to the north and south-east of England. The restored station has 15 platforms, a shopping centre, and a coach facility. London St Pancras International is owned by HS1 Ltd and managed by Network Rail (High Speed), a subsidiary of Network Rail . St Pancras
13268-462: Was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 . It covered the combined area of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St Pancras, which were all abolished. The initial Herbert Commission report recommended that the new borough consist of St Pancras and Hampstead, but Holborn was later added. According to Enid Wistrich, who was a member of Hampstead Council at
13392-401: Was destroyed by building the stations was generally not replaced, and consequently the remaining accommodation became overcrowded. The proliferation of railway lines south of the Thames is why the Underground has more lines north of the river, as it did not have alternative overground services. In contrast to the 19th century impact of stations, newer developments have seen gentrification of
13516-418: Was extended to the rest of London's terminals with effect from British Rail 's fares update of May 1983, when the London station group was created: "as part of the progress towards simplification of routes and a reduction of [separate fares] ... a common origin/destination of LONDON BR has been adopted for most London fares". Tickets to the London station group were issued to "LONDON BR" until January 1989, when
13640-428: Was feared that Marylebone and St Pancras would follow, but both have been revitalised; the former became an alternative terminal for services to Oxford and Birmingham while the latter is now the main entry point for Eurostar services via the Channel Tunnel . The various terminal stations began to affect their surrounding area once built. Those displaced by the railways crammed into whatever existing accommodation
13764-472: Was given to Messrs. Waring , with Barlow's assistant Campion as supervisor. The lower floor for beer warehousing contained interior columns 15 ft (4.6 m) wide and 48 ft (14.6 m) deep, carrying girders supporting the main station and track. The connection to the Widened Lines (St. Pancras branch) ran below the station's bottom level, in an east-to-west direction. To avoid the foundations of
13888-451: Was included separately from January 1984. Two years later, Moorgate was dropped from the group in favour of Old Street, and Kensington Olympia was included; this was in connection with its upgrade in early 1986 to an InterCity station with regular British Rail services from northwest England to the south coast. Moorgate was reinstated as a member of the group in May 1988, and Kensington Olympia
14012-576: Was instrumental in its preservation, and was dubbed "the furious Mrs. Fawcett" by British rail officials. Many of the demonstrators had witnessed the demolition of the nearby Euston Arch a few years previously and were strongly opposed to the distinctive architecture of St Pancras suffering the same fate. The station became Grade I listed building in November 1967, preventing any drastic modifications. The plans were scrapped by BR in December 1968, realising that it
14136-527: Was made in the hope that a high-speed service could connect the two stations and was announced at a ceremony headed by Claude Solard, Director General of SNCF . St Pancras contains four groups of platforms on two levels, accessed via the main concourse at ground level. The below-surface group contains through platforms A and B, and the upper level has three groups of terminal platforms: domestic platforms 1–4 and 11–13 on each side of international platforms 5–10. Platforms A & B serve Thameslink, 1–4 connect to
14260-654: Was made possible by the construction of a pair of single-track tunnels, named the Canal Tunnels ; these tunnels start immediately off the St Pancras Thameslink platforms, dive under the Regent's Canal , and join the East Coast Main Line where the North London Line and High Speed 1 pass over the top. In October 2019, St Pancras was twinned with the Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean , Bordeaux , France. The association
14384-470: Was more cost-effective to modernise the hotel instead, though they disliked owning it. In the 1970s, the train shed roof was in danger of collapse, and the newly appointed Director of Environment Bernard Kaukas persuaded the company to invest £3m to save it. In 1978, British Rail attempted to raise funds with the sale of the impressive 18 foot diameter station clock, allegedly to a wealthy American collector for £250,000. Custom made for St Pancras station by
14508-400: Was prohibitively expensive to build right into the centre, and because each railway was owned by a private company competing with the others. The creation of the London Underground provided a practical connection to the various terminals, which continues to be the case as of the 21st century. Many of the stations have been upgraded and modernised to provide a greater capacity and connections to
14632-416: Was removed from the list in May 1994 as British Rail decided to make fares to and from the station identical to those of neighbouring station Willesden Junction . Tickets issued to "LONDON TERMINALS" can be used to travel from the station of origin to any London terminal that can be reached via a permitted route as defined by the National Routeing Guide . For example, a journey from Brighton can use such
14756-756: Was scrapped by the former Mayor of London Boris Johnson in 2008. All bus services are operated by Transport for London . Buses serve every suburb in the borough. The 2011 census found that the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 21.5% of all residents aged 16–74; on foot, 9.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 9.2%; driving a car or van, 6.3%; work mainly at or from home, 5.2%; train, 4.1%; bicycle, 4.1%. The census also found that 61% of households had no car, 32% had one car and 7% of households had 2 or more cars. There were an estimated 46,000 cars belonging to Camden residents. "Camden Borough Profile" (PDF) . From 16 December 2013, Camden Council introduced
14880-501: Was solicitor for the parliamentary bill, which was sanctioned in 1863. The main economic justification for the MR extension was for the transport of coal and other goods to the capital, which was hindered by a 1s 9d toll on GNR lines. A large goods station was constructed between 1862 and 1865, sited to the west of the King's Cross coal depot between the North London Railway and the Regent's Canal . Although coal and goods were
15004-487: Was spent constructing routes around the capital. The competition between terminals led to increased costs and financial overruns. Around £2 million (£235 million as of 2023) was spent constructing the final approach of the GER main line from the original terminal at Bishopsgate to Liverpool Street, while the extension from London Bridge to Cannon Street and Charing Cross cost £4 million (£469 million as of 2023). The construction of
15128-508: Was successful, and St Pancras was awarded Grade I listed status just 10 days before demolition was due to commence. At the start of the 21st century, the complex underwent an £800 million refurbishment to become the terminal for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link/High-Speed 1/HS1 as part of an urban regeneration plan across East London , and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in November 2007. A security-sealed terminal area
15252-417: Was the largest such structure in the world at the time of its completion. The materials used were wrought iron framework of lattice design, with glass covering the middle half and timber (inside)/slate (outside) covering the outer quarters. The two end screens were glazed in a vertical rectangular grid pattern with decorative timber cladding around the edge and wrought iron finials around the outer edge. It
15376-467: Was too expensive to demolish remaining property in the way. The Royal Commission recommended that no new stations should be built in the West End of London or the city, and that the New Road should be the northern boundary of railway development. This created competition between the individual railway companies, who could promote new terminals with individual financial backers. Exemptions were made for
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