{"id":19537,"date":"2020-08-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=19537"},"modified":"2020-12-20T13:31:39","modified_gmt":"2020-12-20T13:31:39","slug":"kings-cross-coal-drop-yards-the-lighthouse-and-regents-canal-fifty-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/kings-cross-coal-drop-yards-the-lighthouse-and-regents-canal-fifty-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"King’s Cross Coal Drop Yards, The Lighthouse and Regent’s Canal: fifty photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Given that it’s one of those privately owned faux ‘public’ spaces with security guards lurking in every doorway,\u00a0I <\/span>wasn’t expecting to enjoy my trip to Coal Drops Yard, a<\/span> large, shiny new shopping complex at the back of Kings Cross station. But it turned out to be quite a pleasant trip.<\/p>\n

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The Coal Yards are a short walk from King’s Cross station, and it was great to see the ‘Kings Cross <\/a><\/span>Lighthouse<\/a>‘ back to its <\/span>former glory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more in this history feature:\u00a0 The Oysterhouse Lighthouse, Kings Cross<\/a><\/p>\n

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Passing the wonderful spans of Kings Cross station, as designed by Lewis Cubitt.<\/p>\n

The station opened in 1852, with the roof –\u00a0 the largest in the world at the time – supposedly modelled on the riding school of the Czars of Moscow.<\/p>\n

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Refreshments ghost sign.<\/p>\n

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What looks like a well-proportioned old bank building.<\/p>\n

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Regent’s Canal.<\/p>\n

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Around the Coal Drop Yards can be seen construction work on Google’s new enormo-mega HQ.<\/p>\n

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The Android symbol can be seen signalling the floor numbers.<\/p>\n

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The open spaces of Coal Drop’s Yard.<\/p>\n

The place wasn’t very busy at all which made the experience much more enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Mind you, if I’d read the description in Google Maps first, I may have stayed at home:<\/p>\n

Striking retail space in converted 19th-century warehouses, with posh boutiques & buzzy eateries.<\/p>\n

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Upscale shopping centre in stylish digs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Social distancing was easy amongst the vast open plains.<\/p>\n

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Barge on the Regent’s Canal, which runs along two sides of the development.<\/p>\n

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The last time I was here, I was off my face raving at Bagleys, a long since vanished scruffy-but-brilliant nightclub.<\/p>\n

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The design is pretty impressive. Wikipedia<\/a> has the details:<\/p>\n

The \u00a3100m project called for the listed Victorian sheds to be converted into a new high-end, 9,290 sq metre, shopping complex and privately owned public space.<\/p>\n

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Thomas Heatherwick<\/a>\u00a0took the two converging arcaded sheds and connected them with the ‘kissing roof.<\/p>\n

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<\/sup>The two brick and wrought iron coal drops were designed at different times so were structurally different, but shared a common roof line.<\/p>\n

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Heatherwick’s scheme takes the analogy of how a strip of paper can be twisted, and does the same to the slate roof finish. He uses the brick sheds as a base, and constructs the plastic form of the roof from steel tubing.<\/p>\n

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<\/sup>The result is an additional glazed space, in the roof, two storeys high that adds 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2<\/sup>) of space. The 35m wide roof adds no extra weight to the wall structures; it is supported on a 54 steel columns that are embedded within the building.<\/p>\n

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<\/sup>The slate used in the roof comes from the same seam in the same Welsh slate quarry as was used in the original roof<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Flappin’ flags.<\/p>\n

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Street fountains.<\/p>\n

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Green space behind the Yard.<\/p>\n

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St Pancras Lock is adjacent to the development.<\/p>\n

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Although the individual elements of the architecture are quite pleasing, collectively it’s a visual dog’s dinner.<\/p>\n

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The former gasometers by the canal have been converted into private flats with Gasholder Park<\/a> as its centrepiece.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0iconic structures were built in the 1850s as part of\u00a0Pancras Gasworks.<\/p>\n

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The gasholders\u00a0remained in use until the late 20th Century and were finally decommissioned in 2000.<\/p>\n

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When the regeneration of King\u2019s Cross kicked off, Gasholders No. 8, together with 10, 11 and 12 were\u00a0dismantled and shipped piece by piece to Shepley Engineers in Yorkshire.<\/p>\n

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It took\u00a0two years\u00a0to restore Gasholder No. 8, and in 2013 it\u00a0returned to King\u2019s Cross and was rebuilt piece-by-piece in its\u00a0new home on the banks of the canal.<\/p>\n

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Read more about the\u00a0history of the gasholders<\/a>\u00a0and their preservation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See some photo features on the Kings Cross Gasometer on this site here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Inside the ‘park.’<\/p>\n

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This exercise guy and his chirpy cod rave music wasn’t annoying at all. No sir<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Telegraph system.<\/p>\n

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Rail tracks behind the canal.<\/p>\n

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By the canal with Instagram-ready props.<\/p>\n

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Lovely building behind King’s Cross station.<\/p>\n

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Bloody rip off merchants.<\/p>\n

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You are somewhere.<\/p>\n

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The splendid St Pancras station and hotel.<\/p>\n

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As Sting would say: “Don’t stand so close to me.”<\/p>\n

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The mighty Euston Tower, built in 1970 and standing 36-storeys and 124 metres high.<\/p>\n

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This photo feature is wrapped up with a photo of the iconic BT Tower (aka the GPO Tower, the Post Office Tower and the Telecom Tower).<\/p>\n

Click here to take a look inside<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Join in with the forum chat<\/h2>\n

Coal Drops Yard shopping experience in Kings Cross<\/a> (30 posts)<\/p>\n

More info<\/h2>\n

Coal Drops Yard<\/a>
\nStable St, Kings Cross, London N1C 4DQ<\/p>\n