St.Pancras - Sir John Betjeman Statue
On the upper level, above the Arcade concourse, stands a bronze statue of the former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, gazing in apparent wonder at the Barlow roof. Designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings, the statue commemorates the poet's successful campaign to save the station from demolition in the 1960s. The 2-metre (6 ft 7 in)-high statue stands on a flat disc of Cumbrian slate inscribed with lines from Betjeman's poem Cornish Cliffs:
And in the shadowless unclouded glare / Deep blue above us fades to whiteness where / A misty sea-line meets the wash of air.
—John Betjeman, Cornish Cliffs,
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 British Library, King's Cross station and the Regent's Canal. It was opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway as the southern terminus of that company's main line, which connected London with the East Midlands and Yorkshire. When it opened, the arched Barlow train shed was the largest single-span roof in the world.
After escaping planned demolition in the 1960s, the complex was renovated and expanded during the 2000s at a cost of £800 million with a ceremony attended by the Queen and extensive publicity introducing it as a public space. A security-sealed terminal area was constructed for Eurostar services to Continental Europe—via High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel—along with platforms for domestic connections to the north and south-east of England. The restored station has 15 platforms, a shopping centre and a bus station, and is served by London Underground services from King's Cross St Pancras tube station. St Pancras is owned by London and Continental Railways, along with the adjacent urban regeneration area known as King's Cross Central, and is one of eighteen British stations managed by Network Rail.The redeveloped terminus has been described by the travel writer Simon Calder as "the world's most wonderful railway station".
St.Pancras - Sir John Betjeman Statue
On the upper level, above the Arcade concourse, stands a bronze statue of the former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, gazing in apparent wonder at the Barlow roof. Designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings, the statue commemorates the poet's successful campaign to save the station from demolition in the 1960s. The 2-metre (6 ft 7 in)-high statue stands on a flat disc of Cumbrian slate inscribed with lines from Betjeman's poem Cornish Cliffs:
And in the shadowless unclouded glare / Deep blue above us fades to whiteness where / A misty sea-line meets the wash of air.
—John Betjeman, Cornish Cliffs,
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 British Library, King's Cross station and the Regent's Canal. It was opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway as the southern terminus of that company's main line, which connected London with the East Midlands and Yorkshire. When it opened, the arched Barlow train shed was the largest single-span roof in the world.
After escaping planned demolition in the 1960s, the complex was renovated and expanded during the 2000s at a cost of £800 million with a ceremony attended by the Queen and extensive publicity introducing it as a public space. A security-sealed terminal area was constructed for Eurostar services to Continental Europe—via High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel—along with platforms for domestic connections to the north and south-east of England. The restored station has 15 platforms, a shopping centre and a bus station, and is served by London Underground services from King's Cross St Pancras tube station. St Pancras is owned by London and Continental Railways, along with the adjacent urban regeneration area known as King's Cross Central, and is one of eighteen British stations managed by Network Rail.The redeveloped terminus has been described by the travel writer Simon Calder as "the world's most wonderful railway station".