St Pancras () is a district in
north London. It was originally a medieval
ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around half of the modern
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...
. The area of the parish and borough includes the sub-districts of
Camden Town,
Kentish Town,
Gospel Oak,
Somers Town,
King's Cross,
Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden.
History
Manor of Rugmere
Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned ...
,
Dartmouth Park, the core area of
Fitzrovia and a part of
Highgate.
History
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church lies on Pancras Road,
Somers Town, behind
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...
. Until the 19th century it stood on a knoll on the eastern bank of the now buried
River Fleet
The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds an ...
.
The church, dedicated to the Roman martyr
Saint Pancras, gave its name to the St Pancras district, which originated as the parish served by the church. The church is reputed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England; however, as is so often with old church sites, it is hard to find documentary or archaeological evidence for its initial foundation.
One tradition asserts that the church was established in AD 314 in the late Roman period. There is little to support that view, but it is notable that to the south of the church was a site called ''The Brill'', believed at the time to have been a Roman Camp. ''The Brill'' was destroyed during the urbanisation of the area, without any archaeological excavation to assess its age and purpose. The church is certainly very old; it was mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, and there is evidence to suggest it predated Domesday by several centuries.
A
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently.
Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...
was subsequently established at Kentish Town to supplement the main parish church, which was replaced by a new building in 1822,
St Pancras New Church on the south side of
Euston Road. The then-dilapidated Old Church continued in use but was reduced to the status of a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently.
Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...
. Most of the fabric of the Old Church building dates from a subsequent Victorian restoration.
Ancient Parish
The
ancient parish of St Pancras (also known as Pancrace or Pancridge
) was established in the medieval period to serve five manors: two manors named St Pancras (one prebendial, one lay),
Cantlowes (Kentish Town),
Tottenham Court and
Rugmere (Chalk Farm).
By the end of the nineteenth century, the ancient parish had been divided into 37 ecclesiastical parishes, including one for the old church, to better serve a rapidly growing population. There are currently 17
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
parishes completely contained within the boundaries of the ancient parish, all of which benefit from the distributions from the St Pancras Lands Trust and most of which are in South Camden Deanery in the
Edmonton Area of the
Diocese of London.
Pre-urban period
In the Middle Ages it had "disreputable associations",
and by the 17th century had become the "'
Gretna Green
Gretna Green is a parish in the southern council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the Scottish side of the border between Scotland and England, defined by the small river Sark, which flows into the nearby Solway Firth. It was histo ...
' of the London area".
On that account
Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
alludes to the area frequently in his plays.
It was a rural area with a dispersed population until the growth of London in the late eighteenth century.
Urbanisation
In the 1790s
Earl Camden began to develop some fields to the north and west of the old church as
Camden Town. About the same time, a residential district was built to the south and east of the church, usually known as
Somers Town. In 1822 the
new church of St Pancras was dedicated as the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
. The site was chosen on what was then called the New Road (now
Euston Road) which had been built as London's first bypass, the
M25 of its day. The two sites are about a kilometre apart. The new church is
Grade I listed for its
Greek Revival style; the old church
was rebuilt in 1847. In the mid-19th century two major railway stations were built to the south of the Old Church, first
King's Cross and later
St Pancras. The new church is closer to
Euston station
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city ra ...
.
Metropolitan borough
The parish of St Pancras was administered by a
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
until the
Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
St Pancras was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board ...
was established in 1900. In 1965 the borough was combined with two others to form the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...
.
In the 1950s, St Pancras Council gained a reputation for left-wing radicalism and was referred to as "the most freakish borough in London.” The council refused to take part in
civil defence preparations for war which local councils were obliged to provide. The Home Office monitored Mayor
John Lawrence, and as of 2016, still refuses Freedom of Information requests related to him on the grounds of protecting national security.
Housing was in
excess demand after the damage and disruption of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. There was strong opposition to the
1957 Rent Act, which led to a series of decisions that caused serious financial difficulty. John Lawrence and several other councillors were expelled from the Labour Party in 1958 but continued to serve as Independent Socialists. The Conservative Party won the 1958 council election.
In 1960, a widespread rent strike in the district led to rioting in September.
St Pancras Battalions
From 1859 to 1955, the St Pancras produced dedicated military units for the British Army, initially infantry battalions and later anti-aircraft and searchlight regiments. A high proportion of the recruits were drawn from working-class districts of St Pancras, such as
Camden Town.
At the start of World War I, the
St Pancras Battalion was part of the
London Regiment and known as 9th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (St Pancras). The increase in wartime recruitment led to it being split into two battalions (each around a thousand strong), the 1/9th and 2/9th, with the 3/9th established as a training battalion.
These three St Pancras battalions were joined by a fourth, a
Pals battalion, which joined a different regiment, the
Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own), as the 16th (Service) Battalion, Rifle Brigade, (St. Pancras), (The Prince Consort's Own).
During World War I these three front line battalions were deployed:
* The 1/19th Londons were attached to the 141st (5th London) Brigade, in the
47th (1/2nd London) Division serving on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
* Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
.
* The 2/19th Londons, known as ''Christie’s Minstrels'', after their commander and prowess singing while on the march. This battalion was attached to the
180th (2/5th London) Brigade in
60th (2/2nd London) Division
The 60th (2/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised during the First World War. It was the second line-formation of the 47th (1/2nd London) Division, and was the second of two such Territorial Force divisions ...
, seeing action on the Western front before being moved to the Mediterranean and fighting in the
Macedonian front
The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers to aid Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, in the autumn of 191 ...
and in the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign.
* The 16th (Service) Battalion, or'' St Pancras Pals'', joined the
117th Brigade, part of the
39th Division. That division served on the Western Front, with
Sergeant Burman winning a
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...
in 1917. In 1918 the whole Division came close to destruction in the
Battle of the Lys.
Geography
St Pancras was originally an
Ancient Parish that ran from a point a little north of
Oxford Street, extending north to include part of
Highgate, and from today’s
Regent's Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
in the west to the road now called
York Way in the east. These boundaries encompass much of the current
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...
.
The former
River Fleet
The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds an ...
formed part of the boundary with
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington.
The well after which it was named was redis ...
, while a tributary of it – later known as
Lamb’s Conduit - formed the southern boundary with
Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its ro ...
. The course of this watercourse is now marked, in part, by Roger Street (formerly known as Henry Street). The tree which gave the
Gospel Oak district its name, formed part of the boundary with neighbouring
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...
.
The boundaries of St Pancras include take in around half of the modern
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...
, including
Camden Town,
Kentish Town,
Somers Town,
Gospel Oak,
King's Cross,
Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden.
History
Manor of Rugmere
Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned ...
,
Dartmouth Park, the core area of
Fitzrovia and a part of
Highgate.
Transport
There are no motorways in St Pancras, and few stretches of dual carriageway road, but the district has great strategic transport significance to London, due to the presence of three of the capital's most important rail termini;
Euston,
St Pancras and
King's Cross, which are lined up along 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 a Royal Commission of 1846 which sought to protect the
West End districts a short distance south of the road.
National Rail stations include
London King's Cross
King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United Kin ...
and
St Pancras. St Pancras is one of the best-known
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
s in England. It has been extended and is now the terminus for the
Eurostar services through the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover ...
.
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
stations include
King's Cross St Pancras.
Landmarks
Immediately to the north of St Pancras churchyard is
St Pancras Hospital, once the parish
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
and later the
London Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
Cemeteries
During the 18th and 19th centuries, St Pancras was famous for its cemeteries. In addition to the graveyard of Old St Pancras Church, it also contained the cemeteries of the neighbouring ecclesiastical parishes of
St James's Church, Piccadilly,
St Giles in the Fields,
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, beyond its borders, and chose
East Finchley
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ...
for its new
St Pancras Cemetery.
The disused graveyard at St Pancras Old Church was left alone for over thirty years until the building of the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...
required the removal of many of the graves.
Thomas Hardy, then a junior architect and later a novelist and poet, was involved in this work. He placed a number of gravestones around a tree, now known as "the Hardy Tree".
The cemetery was disturbed again in 2002–03 by the construction of the
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...
but much more care was given to the removal of remains than in the 19th century. Old St Pancras Church and its graveyard have links to
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
,
Thomas Hardy, and the
Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relations ...
circle.
Open spaces
Open spaces in the district include:
*
Camley Street Natural Park
Camley Street Natural Park is an urban nature reserve in St Pancras in central London and within the London Borough of Camden. It is a local nature reserve.
The park was closed to the public for reconstruction in December 2017 and reopened in ...
*
Coram's Fields
*
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
*
Waterlow Park
*
Fitzroy Square
*
Cartwright Gardens
Cartwright Gardens is a crescent shaped park and street located in Bloomsbury, London.
The gardens were originally built between 1809 and 1811 as part of the Skinners' Company Estate and were known as Burton Crescent after the developer James Bur ...
*
Regents Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwe ...
(part)
*
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band ...
(part)
*
Primrose Hill (part, the hill itself is in Hampstead)
Political divisions
The name “St Pancras” survives in the name of the local parliamentary
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
,
Holborn and St. Pancras. 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
King's Cross Central (''KXC'') is a multi-billion pound mixed-use development in the north-east of central London. The site is owned and controlled by thKing's Cross Central Limited Partnership It consists of approximately of former railway la ...
.
Notable residents
*
Alice Barth
Alice Mary Barth (25 August 1848 – 18 July 1910) was an English operatic soprano who for some years was a member of the Carl Rosa Opera Company and who during the 1880s managed her own troupe, the Alice Barth Opera Company.
Early life and ...
, soprano
*
Walter Alfred Cox, engraver
*
Ada Ferrar, actress
*
Monica Charlot, historian
*
Elizabeth Eiloart, writer
*
Beatrice Ferrar
Beatrice Ferrar (25 March 1875 – 12 February 1958) was a British actress who made a speciality of playing in 18th-century dramas.
Early life
Born in St Pancras in London in 1875 as Flora Beatrice Bishop to Mary S. Bishop (1836-) and Charl ...
, actress
*
Reg Freeson
Reginald Yarnitz Freeson (24 February 1926 – 9 October 2006) was a British Labour politician. He was a Member of Parliament for 23 years, from 1964 to 1987, for Willesden East and later Brent East, with 14 years on the front bench. He be ...
, politician
*
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Brig ...
, actor
*
Barnaby Kay
Barnaby Kay (born 9 April 1969) is an English actor who has played roles in television, stage, film and performance art. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Personal life
Kay was born at St Pancras, London, and is the son of ac ...
, actor
*
John Lawrence, political activist
*
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew James Clutterbuck (born 14 September 1973), known professionally as Andrew Lincoln, is an English actor. His first major role was as the character Egg in the BBC drama '' This Life'' (1996–1997). Lincoln later portrayed Simon Casey i ...
, actor
*
Glyndwr Michael, homeless man whose body was used for the
Operation Mincemeat deception in
WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
*
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, poet
*
John William Fisher Beaumont, justice
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pancras
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Camden