Kings Cross Environment

In my bungling way I’m trying to put together a comprehensive history of the bit of land where my flat now stands (Battlebridge shown left in 1797, map on the right dated 1796). I’m helped on my way by lots of material including the lovely ‘Kings Cross – a tour in time’ by Mark Aston and Lesley Marshall, ‘A History of Islington’ by Mary Cosh and ‘The Regent’s Canal – London’s hidden waterway’ by Alan Faulkner. I’ll blog highlights of my findings here – please feel free to add or amend! Each link is unique – for example the River Fleet appears several times, each time I’ve linked to a different website. Here’s the first installment:

It all began, possibly, when a bunch of Palaeolithic people were wondering around the swampy area north of the Thames during the period between the ice ages. One of them dropped a flint weapon and a carcass… it was found in 1680 in what is now called Kings Cross Road.

Cut and forward wind to Roman times and Kings Cross was possibly home to a number of Roman camps, one such was known as The Brill. There have been many Roman finds here including pottery, coins, gold and silver all found in the bed of our River Fleet and in what is now called York Way and down to Clerkenwell.

The River Fleet still runs beneath our feet. It starts in Hampstead, comes down through Camden and hits us at the canal behind the stations. Then it runs underneath the canal, through the horrible plasticy bit at the front of Kings Cross Station, below Kings Cross Bridge and from there continues almost parallel to Farringdon Road until it enters the Thames at Blackfriars Bridge. Long ago the river ran at ground level and was pretty big. Over the years it’s become covered over and is now no more than a glorified sewer. But, we should all thank the River Fleet because without it there wouldn’t have been such a long standing community here. I think it’s a shame that the Jubilee Line wasn’t called the Fleet Line as was originally planned – but that’s just me.

Back to the Romans… At that time the area became known as Battle Bridge. It is said it took its name from a battle between Boudica’s army and the Romans at what is now called Kings Cross Bridge. But, that story is unlikely to be true. Given that no-one is going to absolutely prove otherwise though, I think we should keep the story going – it’s one of our claims to fame after all. It has even been said that Boudica is buried under Platform 9 or 10 at Kings Cross station. This is very spooky, as today it is from Platform 9 ¾ that the train leaves each term for Hogwarts. There must be something very magical about that particular piece of land.

With the coming of Christianity came St Pancras Church – not the new one on Euston Road, the old one on Pancras Road next to the canal and the Coroner’s Court. It is one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain and was home to a sacred well. Wells became very important here for religious and, later, health reasons. We should all be telling our friends that we live in a very healthy spa area. St Chad’s Well was one of the most important wells in London and it was indeed right where St Chad’s Place meets the Thameslink Station. For years, right up until Victorian times people would travel for miles around to take the waters at St Chad’s. It even became a pleasure gardens.

More to come later…………..!