╰☆☆June☆☆╮'s photos with the keyword: St Pancras

SOOC St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London, between the British Library, King's Cross station and the Regent's Canal. It was opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway as the southern terminus of that company's Midland Main Line, which connected London with the East Midlands and Yorkshire. When it opened, the arched Barlow train shed was the largest single-span roof in the world. After escaping planned demolition in the 1960s, the complex was renovated and expanded during the 2000s at a cost of £800 million with a ceremony attended by the Queen and extensive publicity introducing it as a public space. A security-sealed terminal area was constructed for Eurostar services to Continental Europe—via High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel—along with platforms for domestic connections to the north and south-east of England. The restored station houses fifteen platforms, a shopping centre and a bus station, in addition to London Underground services from King's Cross St Pancras tube station. St Pancras is owned by London and Continental Railways along with the adjacent urban regeneration area known as King's Cross Central. The redeveloped terminus has been described as "the world's most wonderful railway station". @wikipedia

Sir John Betjeman. In St Pancras Station on the upper level, above the Arcade concourse, stands a bronze statue of the former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, gazing in apparent wonder at the Barlow roof. Designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings, the monument to Betjeman commemorates the poet's successful campaign to save St Pancras station from demolition in the 1960s. The 2-metre (6 ft 7 in)-high statue stands on a flat disc of Cumbrian slate inscribed with lines from Betjeman's poem Cornish Cliffs.......... famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/john_betjeman/poems/832 ( famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/john_betjeman/poems/832 ) Sir John is one of my favourite poets, and this one I especially like...... Dilton Marsh Halt Was it worth keeping the Halt open, We thought as we looked at the sky Red through the spread of the cedar-tree, With the evening train gone by? Yes, we said, for in summer the anglers use it, Two and sometimes three Will bring their catches of rods and poles and perches To Westbury, home for tea. There isn't a porter. The platform is made of sleepers. The guard of the last train puts out the light And high over lorries and cattle the Halt unwinking Waits through the Wiltshire night. O housewife safe in the comprehensive churning Of the Warminster launderette! O husband down at the depot with car in car-park! The Halt is waiting yet. And when all the horrible roads are finally done for, And there's no more petrol left in the world to burn, Here to the Halt from Salisbury and from Bristol Steam trains will return.

The Meeting Place Statue by Paul Day. (Also known as The Lovers) The 30ft statue of a couple in a loving clinch by artist Paul Day forms the centrepiece of the newly refurbished £800 million station. The work, The Meeting Place, cost about £1 million and stands directly beneath the station clock at the southern end of the new Eurostar terminus. It aims to reflect the romantic nature of train travel, and may remind travelers of a scene from Brief Encounter. The work is modeled on the sculptor and his half-French wife Catherine, 38, and was originally to be of the couple kissing. But London and Continental Railways, which commissioned it, thought the pose too risque so the statue shows the lovers touching foreheads as they clasp. It is a poignant meeting of a chic French woman reunited with her English lover and aims to symbolize the meeting of two cultures as it sits beneath the imposing iron archways constructed by engineer William Barlow in 1868, and the station clock. "I wanted to create a statue that showed a meeting of minds as well as a physical connection," said Day. "The statue is quite static and I think that contrasts well with everything that goes on around it. It is far more enigmatic and emotional than a full blown snog." Day, 40, fought off stiff competition for the commission which called for a work as memorable as the Statue of Liberty and a meeting place for the station's 50 million annual passengers.

The Meeting Place Statue by Paul Day, from another angle. (Also known as The Lovers) The 30ft statue of a couple in a loving clinch by artist Paul Day forms the centrepiece of the newly refurbished £800 million station. The work, The Meeting Place, cost about £1 million and stands directly beneath the station clock at the southern end of the new Eurostar terminus. It aims to reflect the romantic nature of train travel, and may remind travelers of a scene from Brief Encounter. The work is modeled on the sculptor and his half-French wife Catherine, 38, and was originally to be of the couple kissing. But London and Continental Railways, which commissioned it, thought the pose too risque so the statue shows the lovers touching foreheads as they clasp. It is a poignant meeting of a chic French woman reunited with her English lover and aims to symbolize the meeting of two cultures as it sits beneath the imposing iron archways constructed by engineer William Barlow in 1868, and the station clock. "I wanted to create a statue that showed a meeting of minds as well as a physical connection," said Day. "The statue is quite static and I think that contrasts well with everything that goes on around it. It is far more enigmatic and emotional than a full blown snog." Day, 40, fought off stiff competition for the commission which called for a work as memorable as the Statue of Liberty and a meeting place for the station's 50 million annual passengers.