Trainshed, Clock, and Brick Wall, St. Pancras Station, London

Trainshed, Clock, and Brick Wall

Designer: William Henry Barlow

Builders: Butterley Company

St. Pancras Station

1868-77

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In this part of the structure, engineering and architecture join, or at least appear juxtaposed to each another. According to Carol Meeks, "St. Pancras' metal work was at first painted brown in view of the dark deposits which were expected eventually to encrust it, but Mr. Allport, a director, ultimately persuaded Barlow and Scott to repaint it sky blue. Why did the latter have to be persuaded? Had the brown decades already come to England? There was nothing drab about Scott's adjoining hotel" (p. 86n12).

"The arch of the glass-and-iron train shed spans 240 feet and is over 100 feet high at its apex. This superb construction was an outstanding feat of Victorian engineering. When it was completed the massive roof, designed by William Henry Barlow, was the largest in the world. The roof is supported at ground-floor level by 690 cast-iron columns. This level was designed as a huge storage area for beer transported from Burton-on-Trent" ["www.touruk.co.uk"].

References

Crook, J. Mordaunt. The Dilemma of Style: Architectural Ideas from the Picturesque to the Post-Modern. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Meeks, Carol L. V. The Victorian Railroad Station: An Architectural History. New Haven: Yale UP, 1956.

Last modified 17 August 2016