Oubliez Waterloo: The St Pancras Effect

Abstract

St Pancras station has provoked controversy and shaped opinions throughout its existence. In reactions to its construction and changing views on its architectural style, from its decline in the 1930s to the debates over its future, and in the spectacular reversal of fortunes that has made it at once the symbol of the railway renaissance and an exemplar of how great historic buildings handled with care and understanding can effect our wider sense of values, St Pancras has been profoundly infl uential. Throughout, the impact of St Pancras has been more far-reaching than its role as a railway terminus. These are the trends that are explored in this paper.