''See also
Kings Cross for disambiguation''
is an inner-city district in the
London Borough Of Camden 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of
Charing Cross . However, the neighbouring
London Borough Of Islington also has some claim on the name—Islington, south of
Barnsbury and the
Regent's Canal and west of Calshot Street is generally regarded as part of Kings Cross.
The area was previously a village known as , which referred to a bridge also known as Broad Ford
Bridge , which was an
Ancient crossing of the
River Fleet . The bridge was said to be the site of a major
Battle between the
Roman s and the
Iceni tribe led by
Boadicea who is buried, legend has it, under platform 9 at
King's Cross Station .
In
1835 a monument was built to
King George IV at the junction of
Gray's Inn Road,
Pentonville Road , and New Road, which later became
Euston Road . The monument wasn't very popular and was taken down 10 years later, though the area has kept the name of Kings Cross.
King's Cross Railway Station now stands at the junction where the cross stood. The station opened in 1852 and designed by architect
Lewis Cubitt , succeeded a short-lived earlier station, erected north of the canal in time for the
Great Exhibition .
Together with
St Pancras station, owned by the
Midland Railway , adjacent to the west, the two stations, together with their associated facilities, for handling general goods and specialist traffics such as fish, coal, potatoes and grain were an important contribution to London's economy, the passenger stations on
Euston Road far outwieghing in public attention the economically more important goods traffics to the north.
After World War II the area declined from being a poor but busy industrial and distribution services district to a partially abandoned post-industrial district. By the 1990s it was notorious for prostitution and drug abuse. This reputation impeded attempts to revive the area, utilising the large amount of land available following the decline of the railway good yard to the north of the station and the many other vacant premises in the area. In the 1990s the government established the Kings Cross Partnership to fund regeneration projects, and the commencement of work on the
Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2000 provided a major impetus for other projects. Within a few years much of the socially undesirable behaviour had been eradicated or at least moved on, and new projects such as offices and hotels had begun to open.
The area is expected to remain a major focus of redevelopment through the first two decades of the 21st century.
Eurostar trains are due to enter neighbouring St Pancras station in
2007 and the construction project has led to the demolishing of several buildings, including the Gasworks. (Built in the
1860s and rebuilt in the
1880s was still in use until
1999 ). Several gasholders that had dominated the area behind station for over a century have been taken down during the building works and placed in storage. Once the new line is up and running a development project on the land between the two major stations and the old Kings Cross goods yard is expected to commmence. This will be called
King's Cross Central , and is planned as one of the largest construction projects in Greater London in the first quarter of the 21st century.
terminal behind the barrel vaulted St Pancras station on the left.]]
For readers of
Harry Potter , platform 9 3/4 is where Potter boards the train for Hogwarts. King's Cross and its surrounding streets was also the setting for the Ealing comedy, ''
The Ladykillers ''.
The British
Epidemic during that time and uses the King's Cross area as the "backdrop" of the story.
Nearby places:
Nearby underground stations:
