Somers Town is an inner-city district in North West
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. It has been strongly influenced by the three mainline
north London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...
railway termini:
Euston (1838),
St Pancras (1868) and
King's Cross (1852), together with the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 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 ...
Somers Town
Goods Depot (1887) next to St Pancras, where the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
now stands. It was named after
Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers (1725–1806).
The area was originally granted by
William III to
John Somers (1651–1716), Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham.
Historically, the name "Somers Town" was used for the larger triangular area between the Pancras,
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
, and
Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...
s,
[ but it is now taken to mean the rough rectangle centred on Chalton Street and bounded by Pancras Road, Euston Road, Eversholt Street, Crowndale Road, and the railway approaches to St Pancras station. Somers Town was originally within the medieval Parish of St Pancras, ]Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, which in 1900 became the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
St Pancras was a civil parish and Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, 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 ar ...
. In 1965 the Borough of St Pancras was abolished and its area became part of the London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...
.[
]
History
600-1839
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...
is believed by many to be one of the oldest Christian sites in England. The churchyard remains consecrated but is managed by Camden Council as a park. It holds many literary associations, from Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
to Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...
, as well as memorials to dignitaries, including the remarkable tomb of architect Sir John Soane.
In the mid 1750s the New Road was established to bypass the congestion of London; Somers Town lay immediately north of this east–west toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
. In 1784, the first housing was built at the Polygon amid fields, brick works and market gardens on the northern fringes of London. Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...
, writer, philosopher and feminist, lived there with her husband William Godwin
William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...
, and died there in 1797 after giving birth to the future Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
, author of ''Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
''. The area appears to have appealed to middle-class people fleeing the French Revolution. The site of the Polygon is now occupied by a block of council flats called Oakshott Court, which features a commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...
for Wollstonecraft.
St Mary's Church opened near the Polygon in 1827 and is now the parish church. In 1830 the first on-duty fatality for the newly founded Metropolitan Police occurred when PC Joseph Grantham was kicked to death while trying to break up a street fight in Smiths Place, Somers Town. The Polygon deteriorated socially as the surrounding land was subsequently sold off in smaller lots for cheaper housing, especially after the start of construction in the 1830s of the railway lines into Euston, St Pancras and King's Cross. In this period the area housed a large transient population of labourers and the population density of the area soared.
1840-1899
When St Luke's Church, near King's Cross, was demolished to make way for the construction of the Midland Railway's St Pancras station and its Midland Grand Hotel
Midland may refer to:
Places Australia
* Midland, Western Australia
Canada
* Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Midland, Ontario
India
* Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
, the estimated 12,000 inhabitants of Somers Town at that time were deprived of that place of worship, as the church building was re-erected in Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath.
Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...
, though St Mary's remained and St Matthew's Oakley Square was added in 1856. In 1868 the lace merchant and philanthropist George Moore funded a new church, known as Christ Church and an associated school in Chalton Street with an entrance in Ossulston Street. The school accommodated about 600 children. Christ Church and the adjacent school were destroyed in a World War II bombing raid and no trace remains today, the site being occupied by a children's play area and sports court, with its parish transferred to Old Saint Pancras Church. By the late 19th century most of the houses in the Polygon were in multiple occupation, and overcrowding was severe with whole families sometimes living in one room, as confirmed by the social surveys of Charles Booth and Irene Barclay.
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
lived in the Polygon briefly as a child and knew the area well. The Polygon, where he once lived, appears in Chapter 52 of ''The Pickwick Papers
''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...
'' (1836), when Mr Pickwick's solicitor's clerk, arriving at Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
just before ten o'clock, says he heard the clocks strike half past nine as he walked through Somers Town: "It went the half hour as I came through The Polygon." The building makes its appearance again in ''Bleak House
''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...
'' (1852), when it served as the home of Harold Skimpole. In ''David Copperfield
''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
'' (1850), Johnson (now Cranleigh) Street was the thoroughfare near the Royal Veterinary College
The Royal Veterinary College (informally the RVC) is a veterinary school located in London and a member institution of the federal University of London. The RVC was founded in 1791 and joined the University of London in 1949. It is the oldest an ...
, Camden Town
Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London.
Laid out as a residential distri ...
, where the Micawbers lived, when Traddles, David Copperfield's friend and schoolfellow, was their lodger.
In ''A Tale of Two Cities
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
'' (1859) Roger Cly, the Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
informant, was buried in Old St Pancras Churchyard. The funeral over, later that night Jerry Cruncher and his companions went "fishing" (body snatching
Body snatching is the illicit removal of corpses from graves, morgues, and other burial sites. Body snatching is distinct from the act of grave robbery as grave robbing does not explicitly involve the removal of the corpse, but rather theft from t ...
), trying unsuccessfully to 'resurrect' Cly. Robert Blincoe (1792–1860), on whose life story ''Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...
'' (1838) may be based, was a child inmate at the St Pancras Workhouse. A central character in Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend
''Our Mutual Friend'', published in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by English author Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. ...
(1865) is Nicodemus Boffin, nicknamed 'The Golden Dustman' because of the wealth he inherited from his old employer John Harmon, who had made his fortune as a dust contractor at Somers Town.
An infirmary was added to the St Pancras Workhouse, adjacent to St Pancras Old Church in 1848, later becoming the St Pancras Hospital, the only hospital in the area not to have closed since 1980. Its current site includes buildings previously used by the Workhouse. St Mary's Dispensary (later the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital) opened at 144 Euston Road in 1866, followed by the National Temperance Hospital at 110-112 Hampstead Road in 1873.
1900-1979
Improvement of the slum housing conditions, amongst the worst in the capital, was first undertaken by St Pancras Borough Council in 1906 at Goldington Buildings, at the junction of Pancras Road and Royal College Street, and continued on a larger scale by the St Pancras House Improvement Society (subsequently the St Pancras & Humanist Housing Association
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surpl ...
, the present owner of Goldington Buildings) which was established in 1924. Its founders were Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
priest Father Basil Jellicoe and Irene Barclay, the first woman in Britain to qualify as a chartered surveyor. The Society's Sidney Street and Drummond Street estates incorporated sculpture panels of Doultonware designed by Gilbert Bayes and ornamental finial
A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...
s for the washing line posts designed by the same artist: these are now mostly destroyed or replaced with replicas.
The Hospital for Tropical Diseases moved onto the St Pancras Hospital site in 1948. Further social housing
Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
was built by the London County Council
The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
, which began construction of the Ossulston Estate in 1927. There remains a small number of older Grade 2 listed properties, mostly Georgian terraced houses
A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...
. During the early 1970s the neighborhood comprising Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
-owned housing in Charrington, Penryn, Platt and Medburn Streets was a centre for the squatting movement.
1979-present
In the 1980s, some council tenants took advantage of the 'right to buy
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives Secure tenancy, secure tenants of Council house, councils and some housing associations the N ...
' scheme and bought their homes at a substantial discount. Later they moved away from the area. The consequence was an influx of young semi-professional people, resulting in a changing population. Somers Town experienced ethnic tension between whites and Bengalis in the early 1990s, climaxing in the murder of Richard Everitt
Richard Norman Everitt (6 December 1978 – 13 August 1994) was a white 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in London, England. Everitt lived in the neighbourhood of Somers Town, which had been the site of ethnic tensions. He was murdere ...
in 1994. Major construction work along the eastern side of Somers Town was completed in 2008, to allow for the Eurostar trains to arrive at the refurbished St Pancras station. This involved the excavation of part of the St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...
yard, the human remains being re-interred at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery in East Finchley.
Land at Brill Place, previously earmarked for later phases of the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
development, became available when the library expansion was cancelled and was used as site offices for the High Speed 1
High Speed 1 (HS1), officially the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
It is part of the line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Euro ...
terminal development and partly to allow for excavation of a tunnel for the new Thameslink
Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...
station. It was then acquired as the site for the Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation), a major medical research institute established by a partnership of Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
, Imperial College London
Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
, King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, the Medical Research Council, University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
(UCL) and the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...
.
References in film and music
A number of significant films have been set in Somers Town: the 1955 Ealing comedy
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
'' The Ladykillers'' with Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
and Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...
; Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...
's ''Mona Lisa'' of 1986, featuring Bob Hoskins; Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...
's 1988 film ''High Hopes''; Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), ...
's 2006 romantic drama ''Breaking and Entering'' starring Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...
and Juliette Binoche; and in 2008 Shane Meadows's ''Somers Town'', which was filmed almost entirely in and around Phoenix Court, a low-rise council property in Purchese Street. The area is mentioned in the Pogues song 'Transmetropolitan', the first song written by the band, who used to live nearby in St Pancras.
Arts and culture
Somers Town has a flourishing street market, held in Chalton Street, Wednesday to Friday. The START (Somers Town Art) Festival of Cultures is held on the second Saturday in July, on the site of the market. It is the biggest street festival
A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood.
The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...
in the Camden borough and attracts about 10,000 people, bringing together the area's diverse cultural communities.
Infrastructure
Hospitals
All the area's hospitals have closed since 1980, apart from St Pancras Hospital, whose large red brick building fronting the complex to the north of St Pancras Gardens is still residential, chiefly as a rehabilitation hospital
Rehabilitation hospitals, also referred to as inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, are devoted to the rehabilitation of patients with various neurological, musculoskeletal, orthopedic, and other medical conditions following stabilization of their ...
for the elderly. Other buildings house the headquarters of Camden NHS Primary Care Trust. It also accommodates parts of Islington Primary Care Trust, the Huntley Centre (a mental health unit) and St Pancras Coroner's Court.
Education
There are two secondary schools in the area, the Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
co-educational Maria Fidelis Convent School FCJ in Phoenix Road, and the state Regent High School in Charrington Street. Regent High School was established in 1877 and has gone through several name changes, more recently as Sir William Collins Secondary School, then as South Camden Community School. Somers Town Community Sports Centre was built on part of the school playground. The building is leased to a charitable trust that is jointly managed by the school and UCL (UCL is based a few hundred metres to the south of Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...
and is a major employer of local residents). It is used for 17% of available hours by UCLU's sports teams for training and home matches and for recreational sport by UCL students. As part of Building Schools for the Future plans to expand the school, it is probable that the sports centre will be reintegrated back into the school campus.
There are also three primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s: Edith Neville (state), St Aloysius (state-aided Catholic) and St Mary and St Pancras (state-aided Church of England). The latter has been built beneath Somerset Court, four floors of university student accommodation units. The children's charity Scene & Heard is also based in Somers Town. It offers a unique mentoring project that partners the inner-city children of Somers Town with volunteer theatre professionals, providing each child who participates with quality one-on-one adult attention and an experience of personal success through the process of writing and performing plays.
Transport
The nearest London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The Undergro ...
stations are Mornington Crescent
Mornington Crescent is a terraced street in Camden Town, London Borough of Camden, Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. Many of the houses were subdivided into flats dur ...
, Euston and King's Cross St Pancras. National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...
services operate from the nearby London King's Cross railway station, London King's Cross, St Pancras railway station, London St Pancras and Euston railway station, London Euston stations. St Pancras International is the terminus for Eurostar services and was the London terminus for the British Rail Class 395, Javelin fast train service to London Olympic Park.
Nearby areas
* Camden Town
Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London.
Laid out as a residential distri ...
to the north
* Euston, London, Euston to the west
* King's Cross, London, King's Cross to the east
* St Pancras to the south-east
* Bloomsbury to the south
Housing estates
Modern housing estates in Somers Town include:
* Oakshott Court
* Cooper's Lane Estate
* Ossulston Estate
* Godwin Court
* Crowndale Estate
* Sidney Estate
* Ampthill Square Estate
* Aldenham House
* Wolcott House
* Churchway Estate
* Mayford Estate
* Clyde Court
* Goldington Street Estate
* Bridgeway Street
Notable residents
* James Bacon (judge), Sir James Bacon (1798–1895), judge and privy councilor, born at 10 The Polygon
* Andrés Bello, (1781–1865), Venezuelan poet, lawmaker, philosopher, and educator lived at 39 Clarendon Square, later at 9 Egremont Place
* Natalie Bennett, former Green Party of England and Wales leader
* Maria Caterina Brignole (1737–1813), Dowager Princess of Monaco, Princess of Condé, fled the French Revolution, buried in St Aloysius[
* Nell Campbell, actress and singer, lived at 50 Charrington Street while appearing in ''The Rocky Horror Show''
* Guy-Toussaint-Julien Carron (1760–1821), French priest who fled the French Revolution and established the chapel of St Aloysius and other institutions in the area, lived at 1 The Polygon]
* Joe Cole, England national football team, England, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Liverpool F.C., Liverpool and West Ham United F.C., West Ham United football player
* Louis Joseph de Bourbon (1736–1818), Prince of Condé, counter-revolutionary leader who fled France[
* Bishop of St. Pol de Léon, Jean François de La Marche, Bishop of St. Pol de Léon (1729–1806), priest who fled the French Revolution, buried in St Pancras churchyard][
* Catherine Despard (d.1815), political activist and wife of executed seditionist Colonel Edward Despard
* Samuel De Wilde (1751–1832), portrait painter and etcher, lived in Clarendon Square][
* ]Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
(1812–1870), lived at 29 Johnson (now Cranleigh) Street for four years, then moved in November 1828 to 17 The Polygon
* Arthur Richard Dillon (1721–1806), Archbishop of Narbonne, who fled the French Revolution, buried in St Pancras churchyard[
* Francis Aidan Gasquet (1846–1929), Cardinal, Librarian of the Vatican, scholar, was born at 26 Euston Place
* Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (]Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
) (1797–1851), most famous for her novel ''Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'', was born at 29 The Polygon
* William Godwin
William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...
(1756–1836), Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment philosopher, lived at 25 Chalton Street (from 1793), at 17 Evesham Buildings (in Chalton St, from 1797) and at 29 The Polygon (1797-1807)
* John Gale Jones (1769–1838), English radical orator, lived at 10 Brill Terrace (now Coopers Lane) and 32 Middlesex Street
* Tom Keell and Alfred Marsh published the anarchist newspaper Freedom (British newspaper), Freedom from 127 Ossulston Street (1894-1927)
* George Lance (1802–1864), painter, lived in Phoenix St[
* Ethel Le Neve (1883–1967), the mistress of Hawley Harvey Crippen, Dr Crippen, lived at 17 Goldington Buildings
* Dan Leno (1860–1904), leading music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era, born at 6 Eve Place
* Doris Lessing (1919–2013), novelist, winner of the 2007 Nobel prize for literature, lived at 60 Charringon Street (street renumbered in late 1970s). In ''Walking in the Shade'' she writes of buying her first house in Somers Town
* Samuel Mitan (1786–1843), engraver, lived and died at 8 The Polygon
* William Nutter (1759–1802), engraver and draughtsman
* Sidney Richard Percy (1821–1886), one of the most prolific and popular landscape painters of the Victorian era, lived at 11 Johnson (now Cranleigh) Street in 1842
* Antonio Puigblanch (1773–1840), author of ''The Inquisition Unmasked'', London, 1816, lived and died at 51 Johnson (now Cranleigh) Street
* Mary Ann Sainsbury (1849–1927), businesswoman, wife of Sainsbury's supermarket chain founder John James Sainsbury. Born at 4 Little Charles Street (now St Joans House, Phoenix St); her family's shop was at 87 Chalton Street from 1863. In 1882 it became part of the Sainsbury's, Sainsbury chain.
* Edward Scriven (1775–1841), pre-eminent engraver of his generation, lived and died at 46 Clarendon Square][
* Benjamin Smith (engraver), Benjamin Smith (1754–1833), engraver, lived and worked first at 21 Judd Place‚ then at 65 Ossulston Street
* Fred Titmus (1932–2011), cricketer, lived at 13 Bridgeway Street
* James Tibbits Willmore (1800–1863), engraver, lived at 23 The Polygon
* Harriette Wilson (1786–1845), prominent Regency era courtesan, lived in Duke's Row (now Duke's Road)
* John Wolcot (1738–1819), as "Peter Pindar", the most prolific and successful burlesque poet of the late 18th century, lived and died in Latham Place (now part of Churchway)
* ]Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...
(1759–1797), writer and philosopher, died at 29 The Polygon
* William Wordsworth (1770–1850), major Romantic poet, Poet Laureate, lived at 15 Chalton Street in 1795
Street name etymologies
This is a list of the etymology of Somers Town streets.
* Aldenham Road – Richard Platt, 16th century brewer and local landowner, who gave part of the land for the Financial endowment, endowment of Aldenham School, Hertfordshire
* Bridgeway Street – by connection with the Earl of Tankerville, Barons Ossulston peerage; formerly Bridgewater Street''
* Charrington Street – as this land was formerly owned by the Worshipful Company of Brewers, and named for the Charrington Brewery
* Chenies Place – after local landowners the dukes of Bedford, also titled Barons Russell, of Chenies, Buckinghamshire, Chenies
* Churchway – as this formed part of old pathway to St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...
* Clarendon Grove – by connection with the Earl of Tankerville, Barons Ossulston peerage
* Cranleigh Street – by connection with the Earl of Tankerville, Barons Ossulston peerage; formerly Johnson Street
* Crowndale Road – as this land was formerly owned by Dukes of Bedford, who also owned land in Crowndale, Devon
* Doric Way – after the doric Euston Arch, built in 1837, demolished in 1961
* Drummond Crescent – part of the Duke of Grafton's FitzRoy Estate, named after Lady Caroline Drummond, great granddaughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton
* Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...
– developed in 1756 by the 2nd Duke of Grafton on land belonging to the FitzRoy Estate, named after Euston Hall, the Graftons' family home
* Eversholt Street – after the Dukes of Bedford, whose seat was at Woburn Abbey near Eversholt, Bedfordshire
* Goldington Crescent and Goldington Street – formerly part of the Duke of Bedford's Figs Mead Estate (later Bedford New Town), who also owned land in Goldington, Bedfordshire
* Grafton Place – originally part of the Duke of Grafton's FitzRoy Estate
* Medburn Street – Richard Platt, 16th century brewer and local landowner, who gave part of his land at Medburn Farm, Hertfordshire for the Financial endowment, endowment of Aldenham School
* Midland Road – after the adjacent railway line, built by the Midland Railway Company; part was formerly Skinner Street, on the Worshipful Company of Skinners, Skinners' Company's Estate
* Oakley Square – as this land was formerly owned by Dukes of Bedford, who also owned land in Oakley, Bedfordshire
* Ossulston Street – named in 1807 in memory of the Saxon-era Hundred (county division), hundred of Ossulston, thought to be named after a stone boundary marker at Tyburn (now Marble Arch) erected by one Oswulf/Oswald
* Pancras Road – after the adjacent St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...
, named for the Roman-era Christian martyr Pancras of Rome
* Phoenix Road – thought to be after a former tavern of this name; formerly Phoenix Street
* Platt Street – after Richard Platt, 16th century brewer, who donated this land to the Worshipful Company of Brewers, who built this street in 1848-53
* Polygon Road – after the Polygon, a 17th-century housing development here instigated by Jacob Leroux and Job Hoare
* Purchese Street – after Frederick Purchese, local resident, vestryman, county council member and List of mayors of St Pancras, Mayor of St Pancras
* Werrington Street – after Werrington, Cornwall, where local landowners the dukes of Bedford held land; formerly Clarendon Street
References
External links
An inside view
Somers Town Community Association
{{University College London, university
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Camden