1/3/2023 0 Comments Icon cast architectsThe deck was supported by 688 cast iron columns. This was constructed of wrought iron girders in a grid of primary and secondary beams the spaces in between comprising riveted wrought iron plates each slightly convex in section. The elevation of the platform above street level and the intention to use the resultant space below for commercial purposes, principally beer from Burton on Trent, influenced the design and construction of the track and platform deck. The train station design is a unique response to its site context but also reflects thinking of the day in respect of station design and operation the platform deck was raised up on a grid of 688 cast-iron columns in order to allow steam engines to pass over the Regent’s canal just to the north and thus avoid the challenging gradient up towards Kentish Town. William Henry Barlow (left) ©Institute of Civil Engineers / George Gilbert Scott (right) ©RIBA The Midland Railway Company appointed engineers William Henry Barlow (chief engineer) & Rowland Mason Ordish to design the overall station layout, track design and train shed and George Gilbert Scott, as architect for the hotel and station accommodation which was completed in 1876. Where Agar Town had been falsely portrayed as a foul slum housing a depraved population it fell easy prey to the MRC, who without difficulty obtained Parliamentary powers and in 1868 demolished the area, leaving the inhabitants to find other accommodation wherever they could. To make way for the lines and Station large parts of the existing neighborhoods of Somerstown and Agar Town were demolished: 3000 houses in total. Image: ©Mary Evans Picture Library / London Illustrated News Furthermore the north approach to the site was occupied by a gas works and a burial ground. It was constrained on three sides to the south by Euston Road which demarcated the southern most line at which new rail termini could be built (Metropolitan Railway Commissioners 1846) but which also had the Metropolitan Railway running beneath it by the Regents Canal to the north and by the River Fleet to the east. The site chosen by the MRC for its London terminus was unusually complicated. Following disputes in 1862 the Midland Railway put a bill to Parliament for a route from its line at Bedford into a new terminus at St Pancras. This latter agreement allowed the MRC to build a goods depot on land north of the Regents Canal as the transportation of materials into London was the focus of the railway business. Image: ©Mary Evans Picture Library/ London Illustrated Newsīefore the 1860s the Midland Railway Company (MRC) had no direct line into London, routing its traffic via the London and North Western Railway into Euston, and from 1858 via a route into Kings Cross, operated by another rival, the Great Northern Railway. Recent research, studying deeds, Vestry minutes, census and poor law records, suggests this has been exaggerated as it was home to a range of skilled and semi skilled workers associated with local industry such as piano making. This reputation was perpetuated by contemporary writers as being a squalid slum housing many poor, drunken Irish. Agar Town a small estate developed from 1840 to the north and east of Pancras Old Church had a less salubrious reputation due to poor quality housing, no drainage and overcrowding. Somers Town attracted international refugees and housed a large population of French Catholics escaping the French Revolution. Housing to accommodate the workers and others newly arrived in London followed with the development of Somers Town and Agar Town. This was followed by the railways with Kings Cross in 1852 and St Pancras in 1868. First came the Regent’s Canal in 1820 bringing with it industry attracted to the transportation possibilities of the canal such as the Imperial Gas, Light and Coke Company which built the gasholders still visible next to the canal. However, the relentless industrial progress of the time soon changed the landscape forever. In the late 18 th and early 19 th century St Pancras was still extensively rural in character and featured its own spa and pleasure grounds for those seeking respite from the city. In the space of 150 years St Pancras transformed from open fields and hamlets to dense urban development
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