London's St Pancras: a mythical station to discover

The St Pancras is the gateway to London to Europe.

Trains carry passengers from the British capital to mainland Europe in less than an hour.

Today, I'm devoting an entire article to the subject.

Here we go!

St Pancras in London: article summary

St Pancras is Eurostar's second home in London

Before moving its London terminus to St Pancras International in 2007, Eurostar operated services to the continent from Waterloo.

It began operating services from St Pancras after the completion of the Channel Tunnel high-speed rail link. This was subsequently renamed High Speed 1.

The new high-speed rail link has reduces travel time to the mainland by around 40 minutes.

London's pearly tradition dates back to St Pancras

The London tradition of pearly kings and queens is just one of the many brilliantly peculiar quirks associated with the capital.

This pearly tradition began with a man called Henry Croft, who cleaned the streets around St Pancras.

Croft became the first Pearly King when he wore a suit with mother-of-pearl buttons to raise money for the St Pancras orphanage that had raised him to the age of 13.

A Nazi bomb damaged Saint-Pancras during the Second World War

Like most of the capital's major buildings, St Pancras station was damaged by the Blitz bombing raids.

Despite the fact that a 500 kg bomb pierced the roof of the train shed, causing major damage to platforms 3 and 4, the basement and the metropolitan railroad, it only took a week of emergency repairs to restore service.

St Pancras: demolition avoided in the 1960s

Have you noticed the statue of a slightly rotund figure upstairs on the Great Terrace? In the 1960s, the British Railways Board tried to do what the Nazis couldn't: destroy St Pancras station.

The council wanted to combine it with the nearby King's Cross station. This plan, which would probably demolition of the two existing stations.

Thanks to the efforts of a campaign led by John Betjeman, the man pictured on La Grande Terrasse, the resort celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2018.

A piano that belonged to Elton John

Anyone passing through St Pancras may have noticed the Yamaha piano waiting in the station concourse. Talented travelers often come to play it impromptu.

Elton John left it there as a donation after having surprised audiences with a performance in February 2016.

The original Saint Pancras was a child martyr

It is claimed that in 304 AD, the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered the beheading of Saint Pancras, a 14-year-old Roman citizen who had refused to renounce his faith after converting to Christianity.

Just two years later, the imperial mantle was taken up by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.

Don't miss the nine-three-quarter station

How can you talk about St Pancras in London without mentioning the nine-three-quarter station? Lovers ofHarry Potter will be delighted to take a photo with the half-cart protruding from the station wall. Afterwards, you can do some shopping in the store dedicated to the bespectacled wizard. If you'd like to find out more, please visit read the article I wrote on this subject.

London's St Pancras station is a must-see. If you're arriving by Eurostar, you'll be able to discover this place straight off the train.

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