Fergusbrandon

London is a veritable tourist haven with some of the most splendid attractions to visit and explore in this ancient city. It has gained renown the world over for its historical palaces, monuments, castles, Royal Parks and countless landmarks that are spread across the landscape of this beautiful city. It consistently features among the top 10 tourist destinations in the United Kingdom with millions of tourists visiting the city every year.  London could be described as a fine blend of the medieval with the modern. With venerable landmarks like St. Paul’s Cathedral to its ultramodern The Shard there are diverse tourist attractions to explore on a trip to the city.  

For those who stay at The Piccadilly London West End that have planned a trip to France on the Eurostar, the boarding point would be London’s finest railway station St. Pancras Station.  For that matter it is undoubtedly one of the grandest railway stations to be found in the world. St. Pancras Station is an architectural masterpiece in its own right. It is a magnificent ornate edifice built in the classic Victorian Gothic-style. And when you walk through its beautiful red-brick archways under its stunning massive arched glass roof it is difficult to imagine that less than half a century ago there were plans to demolish this beautiful site. St. Pancras Station now is the railway hub for international Eurostar services and also trains that travel to the north of the country.  Whether you plan to catch a train here or simply visit the place to admire its beautiful restoration it is definitely a place not to miss when on holiday in London.

St. Pancras was built in the 1860s courtesy of a project undertaken by the Midland Railway which planned to link the city of London to the Midlands. Before the construction of St Pancras the area was home to slums where the poorer sections of English society stayed. The Midland Railway company decided to change that by commissioning an opulent station and a hotel. Its train shed was the design of William Henry Barlow, who created it on wrought-iron pillars with the arched glass ceiling being 207 metres in length and 70 metres in width. At the time of its completion it had the distinction of being the biggest enclosed space in the world. Towards its front facade the Midland Hotel was designed by the master architect George Gilbert Scott, who was the winner of a competition. It was his lavish Gothic red-brick design that impressed the Midland Railway company who commissioned him to build it. 

Things did not always go as well for St Pancras in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1935 the Midland Hotel shut down with its building used to house railway offices. In WWII it was damaged during the Blitz.  And the final blow came when due to major changes in rail routes it was left with inadequate use of train services to keep it feasible to maintain. It was well past its prime worse from wear and tear and its impractical design made it a target, with calls to demolish the structure in the 1960s. There were plans   redevelop the area and create something more modern. It was thanks largely to the efforts of Poet Laureate John Betjeman, a patron and lover of Victorian architecture, who organised a campaign to save it. It was spared and in 1967 was allotted Grade I listed status.

While it was saved from demolition, there was regular debate as what was to be done with the building.  It fell further into decline for the next three decades with its rail lines rarely used and its hotel building abandoned. All of this changed when eventually it was selected to be the terminus for international Eurostar services. At a cost of close to £800 and after 13 years of renovation it opened its services in November 2007. The buildings had been thoroughly cleaned which revealed the red-brick detail, its roof glazing was redone true to its original design and its magnificent wrought ironwork was cleaned and repainted in its former Victorian colour. There were new ticket offices and shops opened beneath its arches with the main space left open to allow plenty of natural light.

The last part to undergo restoration was to transform its old former hotel into plush new accommodation in 2011 with the latest mod cons and comforts to expect from a luxury hotel.   Visitors could dine at the Gilbert Scott restaurant, or even try a classic Victorian punch at its famous Booking Office Bar that is 29-foot in length with fabulous vaulted ceilings. While there try to catch a glimpse of its beautiful Grand Staircase, where it is not difficult to envisage a scene from the 1920s with ladies in glamorous silk gowns and men in trendy dinner jackets making a spectacular entrance to dine here. In fact it was also the location where the Spice Girls shot the video for their song Wannabe. For those who are keen to learn more this building’s fascinating history there is an in-house historian who could apprise them about the details.

St. Pancras Station also boasts of having the longest Champagne bar in the whole of Europe. Its length stretches amazingly all along the entire length of its Eurostar platform. Towards the end of the platform visitors will find a statue commemorating the memory of John Betjeman, who played a pivotal role in conserving this grand station for future generations. If on holiday in London make it a point to visit St. Pancras Station and you could even sip on champagne and raise a toast to John Betjeman without whom St. Pancras Station would no longer have existed.