St Pancras, London
Encyclopedia
St Pancras is an area of London
. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.
which ran from close to what is now Oxford Street
north as far as Highgate
, and from what is now Regent's Park
in the west to the road now known as York Way
in the east, boundaries which take in much of the current London Borough of Camden
, including the central part of it. However, as the choice of name for the borough suggests, St Pancras has lost its status as the central settlement in the area. The district now encompassed by the term St Pancras is not easy to define, and usage of St Pancras as a place name is fairly limited.
The original focus of St Pancras was St Pancras Old Church
, which is in the southern half of the parish, and is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian
worship in Great Britain
. However in the 14th century the population abandoned the site and moved to Kentish Town
. The reasons for this were probably the vulnerability of the plain around the church to flooding (the River Fleet
, which is now underground, runs through it) and the availability of better wells at Kentish Town, where there is less clay in the soil. The old settlement was abandoned and the church fell into disrepair. However, some residence continued near the old church as is shown on the 1801 map of the area and in an 18th century landscape that turned up in 2007.
In the 1790s Earl Camden began to develop some fields to the north and west of the Old Church as Camden Town
, which has become a better known place name than St Pancras. In the mid 19th century two major railway stations were built to the south of the Old Church, one of them called St Pancras
and the other King's Cross. A residential district was built to the south and east of the church, but it is usually known as Somers Town
. The term St Pancras is sometimes applied to the immediate vicinity of St Pancras Station, but King's Cross is the usual name for the area around the two mainline stations as a whole.
until the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
was established in 1900. In 1965 the former area of the borough was combined with that of two others to form the London Borough of Camden
.
, St Giles in the Fields
(at Trafalgar Square
), St Andrew, Holborn
, St. George's Church, Bloomsbury
, and St George the Martyr, Holborn
. These were all closed under the Extramural Interment Act in 1854; the parish was required to purchase land some distance away, and chose East Finchley
for its new St Pancras Cemetery.
The deserted cemetery was left alone for over thirty years, when the building of the Midland Railway
meant bodies and graves had to be removed. Thomas Hardy
, then a junior architect and later a novelist and poet, was involved in removing many of the graves. Particularly, he added a number of stones around a tree, now known as "Hardy's Tree". The cemetery was later disturbed in 2002 - 2003 for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
, but much more care was given to the removal of remains than in the 19th century.
. One of the political wards
in Camden is called St Pancras and Somers Town; however ward boundaries are chosen to divide a borough into roughly equal slices with little regard to historical boundaries or day to day usage. Besides Somers Town and the area around St Pancras Old Church the ward includes much of Camden Town and the former Kings Cross Goods Yard, which is being redeveloped as a mixed use district under the name Kings Cross Central.
, Thomas Hardy
, and the Wollstonecraft
circle.Immediately to the north of the churchyard is St Pancras Hospital
, formerly the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases. St Pancras is one of the best known railway stations in England. It has been extended and is now the terminus for the Eurostar
services through the Channel Tunnel
.
The nearest London Underground stations are King's Cross St Pancras tube station and Russell Square
. The nearest National Rail
stations are London King's Cross and St Pancras railway station
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.
Ancient parish
St Pancras was originally a medieval parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
which ran from close to what is now Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
north as far as Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, and from what is now Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
in the west to the road now known as York Way
York Way
York Way is a major road in the London Borough of Islington, running north for one mile from the junction of Pentonville Road and Euston Road, adjacent to King's Cross railway station towards Kentish Town and Holloway. At its northern end the road becomes Brecknock Road...
in the east, boundaries which take in much of the current London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
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...
, including the central part of it. However, as the choice of name for the borough suggests, St Pancras has lost its status as the central settlement in the area. The district now encompassed by the term St Pancras is not easy to define, and usage of St Pancras as a place name is fairly limited.
The original focus of St Pancras was St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in central London. It is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England, and is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, although the building itself is largely Victorian...
, which is in the southern half of the parish, and is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
worship in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. However in the 14th century the population abandoned the site and moved to Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
. The reasons for this were probably the vulnerability of the plain around the church to flooding (the River Fleet
River Fleet
The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers. Its two headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath; each is now dammed into a series of ponds made in the 18th century, the Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds. At the south edge of Hampstead Heath these two streams flow...
, which is now underground, runs through it) and the availability of better wells at Kentish Town, where there is less clay in the soil. The old settlement was abandoned and the church fell into disrepair. However, some residence continued near the old church as is shown on the 1801 map of the area and in an 18th century landscape that turned up in 2007.
In the 1790s Earl Camden began to develop some fields to the north and west of the Old Church as Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, which has become a better known place name than St Pancras. In the mid 19th century two major railway stations were built to the south of the Old Church, one of them called St Pancras
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
and the other King's Cross. A residential district was built to the south and east of the church, but it is usually known as Somers Town
Somers Town, London
Somers Town, was named for Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers. The area in St Pancras, London, was originally granted by William III to John Somers, Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham. It was to be strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston , St...
. The term St Pancras is sometimes applied to the immediate vicinity of St Pancras Station, but King's Cross is the usual name for the area around the two mainline stations as a whole.
Metropolitan borough
The parish of St Pancras was administered by a vestryVestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
until the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
The Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden...
was established in 1900. In 1965 the former area of the borough was combined with that of two others to form the London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
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...
.
Cemeteries
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, St Pancras was famous for its cemeteries, for as well as the grave yard of Old St Pancras Church, it also contained the cemeteries of St James's Church, PiccadillySt James's Church, Piccadilly
St James’s Church, Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren....
, St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...
(at Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
), St Andrew, Holborn
St Andrew, Holborn
St Andrew, Holborn is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without.-Roman and medieval:Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 excavations in the crypt...
, St. George's Church, Bloomsbury
St. George's Church, Bloomsbury
St George's, Bloomsbury is a parish church in Bloomsbury, London Borough of Camden, United Kingdom.-History:The Commissioners for the Fifty New Churches Act of 1711 realised that, due to rapid development in the Bloomsbury area during the latter part of the 17th and early part of the 18th...
, and St George the Martyr, Holborn
St George the Martyr Holborn
St George the Martyr Holborn is an Anglican church located at the south end of Queen Square, Holborn, London Borough of Camden. It is dedicated to Saint George, and is so-called to distinguish it from the later nearby church of St...
. These were all closed under the Extramural Interment Act in 1854; the parish was required to purchase land some distance away, and chose East Finchley
East Finchley
East Finchley is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, in north London, and situated north-west of Charing Cross. Geographically it is somewhat separate from the rest of Finchley, with North Finchley and West Finchley to the north, and Finchley Central to the west.- History :The land on which...
for its new St Pancras Cemetery.
The deserted cemetery was left alone for over thirty years, when the building of the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
meant bodies and graves had to be removed. Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, then a junior architect and later a novelist and poet, was involved in removing many of the graves. Particularly, he added a number of stones around a tree, now known as "Hardy's Tree". The cemetery was later disturbed in 2002 - 2003 for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
High Speed 1 , officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and originally as the Continental Main Line , is a high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.The line was built to carry international passenger traffic from the United Kingdom...
, but much more care was given to the removal of remains than in the 19th century.
Political divisions
The name St Pancras survives in the name of the local parliamentary constituency, Holborn and St. PancrasHolborn and St. Pancras (UK Parliament constituency)
Holborn and St. Pancras is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.-Constituency Profile:...
. One of the political wards
Ward (subnational entity)
A ward is a subdivision of a municipality. Wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to the area...
in Camden is called St Pancras and Somers Town; however ward boundaries are chosen to divide a borough into roughly equal slices with little regard to historical boundaries or day to day usage. Besides Somers Town and the area around St Pancras Old Church the ward includes much of Camden Town and the former Kings Cross Goods Yard, which is being redeveloped as a mixed use district under the name Kings Cross Central.
Features
Old St Pancras Church and its graveyard have links to Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, and the Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
circle.Immediately to the north of the churchyard is St Pancras Hospital
St Pancras Hospital
St Pancras Hospital is a public hospital in the St Pancras/Somers Town area of London, near Camden Town. The hospital is controlled by the Camden Primary Care Trust and specialises in geriatric and psychiatric medicine....
, formerly the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases. St Pancras is one of the best known railway stations in England. It has been extended and is now the terminus for the Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
services through the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
.
Transport
Nearest places- King's Cross and Somers TownSomers Town, LondonSomers Town, was named for Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers. The area in St Pancras, London, was originally granted by William III to John Somers, Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham. It was to be strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston , St...
to the north - BloomsburyBloomsbury-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
to the west and south - ClerkenwellClerkenwellClerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
to the east
The nearest London Underground stations are King's Cross St Pancras tube station and Russell Square
Russell Square tube station
Russell Square is a London Underground station on Bernard Street, Bloomsbury in the London Borough of Camden. It is a small but busy station, often used by office workers and by tourists who are staying in Bloomsbury's numerous hotels. The station is a Grade II listed building.-History:The station...
. The nearest National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
stations are London King's Cross and St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
.