New Developments · Our pick in London
King’s Cross and Coal Drops Yard: the regeneration story
The back story
About King’s Cross and Coal Drops Yard: the regeneration story
For much of the 20th century, the land behind King’s Cross and St Pancras stations was a wasteland of gasholders and goods yards. Since the 2000s it has been transformed.
The stations
King’s Cross, of 1852, and the Gothic St Pancras, completed in the 1870s, were restored in the 2000s; St Pancras became the terminus for Eurostar in 2007.
The railway lands
Behind them, the old goods yards, warehouses and gasholders were redeveloped into offices, homes, a university campus and parks, keeping many Victorian structures.
At King’s Cross, the Victorian gasholders were dismantled and rebuilt as frames for new homes.
Coal Drops Yard and Granary Square
Heatherwick Studio reshaped the coal drops into a shopping street, and the Granary building now houses the Central Saint Martins art school, facing the fountains of Granary Square.
Our advice: arrive by Eurostar or Tube, walk up King’s Boulevard to Granary Square, and explore Coal Drops Yard and the canal towpath.
Why it's on our list
- The stations
- The railway lands
- Coal Drops Yard
- Granary Square
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with King’s Cross and Coal Drops Yard: the regeneration story before you go.