York Way | >Re-PHOTO

Gasholders, Flats and the Goods Yard – Kings Cross 1989

My posts about my walk around King’s Cross led by the Greater London Industrial Archeology Society on Saturday 8th April 1989 continues. The previous post was Albion Yard and Balfe Street, 1989.

Kings Cross Station, gasholders, Culross Buildings, York Way, King's Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4e-15 — *Kings Cross Station, gasholders, Culross Buildings, York Way, King’s Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4e-15*

We returned to York Way, where I made this picture looking across some of the platforms of Kings Cross Station towards the gasholders. York Way is one of the ancient streets of the area, recorded as Mayde Lane in 1476, later Maiden Lane, and its bridge over the Regent’s Canal is still the Maiden Lane Bridge, though the street became York Rd in the later 219th century.

I wasn’t around when its name was changed yet again to the current York Way in 1938, but for my walks I often made use of large-scale OS maps from previous eras, which provided more information than the street maps or current OS maps. So I sometimes confuse myself and others by still calling it York Rd.

The gasholders have been moved and Culross Buildings and Culross Hall in Battlebridge Rd were demolished around 2004 for the comprehensive redevelopment of the area, so this great piece of urban landscape is no more. The flats built in 1891-2 were home to 150 people.

*Battlebridge Basin, Kings Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4f-64*

This basin on the Regent’s Canal was made at the same time as this part of the canal was dug in 1820, and some of the buildings around it date from 1822. Originally named for its owner as Horsfall Basin it was later known as Maiden Lane Basin, but later took the original name of the Kings Cross area. The area here had been marshy, and Horsfall contracted to take the spoil from the canal’s Islington tunnel to build up the land around with the basin being used used to bring the spoil.

The area once had a bridge over the River Fleet – underground here since 1825. The river used to run along the west side of Pancras Road. According to legend this is where the the rebel British Celtic Iceni queen Boudicca led an army and defeated the the Romans in AD 60/61, rampaging through much of the south east of England burning towns and settlements though soon after her forces were decisively defeated at Fenny Stratford, near to Milton Keynes.

By the 1970s the basin was unused and many of the industrial buildings around it derelict. In 1978 a group of boat owners formed the non-profit organisation the London Narrow Boat Association and negotiated with on of the factory owners to allow them to moor here.

Both the larger buildings at the right of this picture have since been converted to flats, the taller block as Albert Dock. New buildings including the Guardian newspaper and Kings Place concert hall have replaced some of the old industrial buildings. The former ice warehouse, built around 1860 by ice cream maker Carlo Gatti to store ice from Norway brought here by ship and then canal is now the London Canal Museum.

*Midlands Goods Shed, Kings X Goods Yard, Kings Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4f-53*

King’s Cross opened as the southern terminus of the Great Northern Railway’s East Coast mainline in 1852, and Midland Railway services from Leicester began to run here in 1858.

Goods traffic was an important aspect of the railway, bringing coal, grain, fish and other goods into London, and a huge area to the north of the station became railway goods yards. It made more for the railways than passenger traffic.

At the time of this walk, proposals for the development of this huge site were being put forward by the London Regeneration Consortium. These were later dropped as plans for the development of the High Speed Rail link changed considerably, and much of the railway lands were used in connection with the construction of this.

After the new Eurostar line into St Pancras International opened in 2007, work began on the redevelopment of the area most of which has now completely changed. Some of the major buildings have been retained and repurposed.

Midland Goods Shed, Kings X Goods Yard, King's Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4m-15 — *Midland Goods Shed, Kings X Goods Yard, King’s Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4m-15*

The Midland Goods Shed was initially built in 1850 as a temporary passenger station while the main King’s Cross station was being constructed. The canopy here was I think a later addition from 1888.

This was in use for many years for handling potatoes and the area to the east was the potato market. In 1989 it was in use for magazine and newspaper distribution.

These listed buildings have been converted into a Waitrose store and cookery school and have retained some of the orginal features.

*Goods Offices, Kings X Goods Yard, Kings Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4f-54*

These were I think the offices on the front of the Midland Goods Shed and are now looking rather tidier than in 1989

*Fish & Coal Offices, Kings X Goods Yard, Kings Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4f-56*

This group of buildings are on the edge of the Regent’s Canal, and tower above it when you walk along the towpath below. They are now in much better condition and a part of the Coal Drops Yard reformation of the area.

Built from 1851 to 1862, although these are unlisted they were scheduled to be retained and refurbished in the development proposals.

*The Granary, Kings X Goods Yard, Kings Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4f-41*

The most impressive of the buildings on the goods yard site, the Grade II listed Granary was purpose-built to designs by Lewis Cubitt to store grain and flour in 1852 as a part of the original plans for the station. It was built to store around 5,000 tons of grain and had hydraulic lifts for the sacks of grain. The granary also used to have two short canals from the Regent’s canal to its basement as well as an open dock.

*The Granary, Kings X Goods Yard, Kings Cross, Camden, 1989 89-4f-55*

The Granary is now home to Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts London.

Our exploration of the Goods Yard will continue in a later post.

The first post on this walk was Kings Cross, St George’s Gardens & More.

Albion Yard and Balfe Street, 1989

Albion Yard and Balfe Street: My walk around King’s Cross on Saturday 8th April 1989 continues. The previous post was Along the Cally & York Way. I was taking part in a walk led by the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society, GLIAS.

York Way area Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-34 — *Albion Yard, York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-34*

I cannot now remember if we took an alley from York Way to enter Albion Yard or if we turned east along Railway Street, from where there was another entrance. But I think this building was on our route into Albion Yard, and is now still present either in Albion Yard or the connected Ironworks Yard.

Neither of these yards is named on the old larre-scale OS maps, and only Albion Yard appears on my old street atlas. A few yards away from the Balfe Street entrance on the corner with Caledonian Road The Albion pub opened in 1845 when Balfe Street was called Albion St but the yard was simply labelled on the 1877 map as ‘Blue Manufactury.’ The Albion building is still there though by the time of this walk known as Malt & Hops. For some years it was the Ruby Lounge wine bar, then a Be At One cocktail bar and is now home to the Institute of Physics.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-35*

The name ‘Albion’ is the oldest known name for the mainland of Britain, in use at least since it was recorded by Greek geographers around 6,000 years ago to distinguished it from Ireland. They are thought to have got the name from the Celts and it was Romanised as Albion.

Some believe it came from a word meaning white and relate it to the ‘White Cliffs of Dover’ but it seems more likely to have a different origin simply meaning ‘land’ or ‘world’, and possibly the same root that also led to Alps and Albania.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-36*

Albion largely survives in modern English simply in the name ‘Alba’ used by Scottish separatists and in Celtic languages for Scotland.

But Albion is the England of myths, with the fantasies of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae being repeated as fact in histories in the five centuries that followed. But most important for its continued popularity was the work of visionary poet and printmaker William Blake and his ‘Jerusalem‘, subtitled ‘The Emanation of the Giant Albion‘ published in just as six copies before his death in 1827. Later many have come to regard him as the greatest artist Britain has ever produced.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-21*

Albion Yard had entrances from York Way, Caledonia St, Balfe St and Railway St and was the interior of this block of four streets. The entrances and a few of the buildings that were present in 1989 still exist though in rather different state, but the character of the area, now labelled ‘Regent Quarter’ is very different.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-22*

An property group’s site provides the following description:

“Regents Quarter is a development of almost six acres of land next to Kings Cross Station that and has been transformed into a living working community. Victorian workshops have been converted into loft style apartments, sitting comfortably alongside ultra modern business and residential spaces…

This sought after gated development boasts a lovely entrance hall further benefitting from a 24 hour concierge/security service.”

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-24*

Some of the properties were still in use as small workshops but others are clearly derelict. I was intrigued by the heads of mannequins visible in the first floor with a door on which the name MODRENO had been hand-painted. This photograph had a sign painted on the wall ‘NO PARKING MODRENO LOADING BAY – SIGNED LECKY’S DUMMY MODELS’. You can find out much more on Modreno at Foxxhunting – Modreno.

Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-12 — *Leaving Albion Yard to Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-12*

You can view a very detailed presentation of the proposed redevelopment of the whole area, which includes a plans and a number of photographs of the current Albion Yard, part of what will be called Jahn Court. You can recognise this and other buildings in my pictures in the photographs there.

*Entrance to Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-14*

The mid 19th century house at left and the adjoining arch with its inscription ‘WORKS & MILLS’ and the date 1846 is Grade II listed. Balfe St was formerly Albion St, and was renamed after the composer of the opera The Bohemian Girl, William Balfe in 1938.

My King’s Cross walk with GLIAS will continue in a later post

The first post on this walk was Kings Cross, St George’s Gardens & More.

Along the Cally & York Way

My walk around King’s Cross on Saturday 8th April 1989 continues. The previous post was King’s Cross Road – 1989

*Alley, 7 Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4d-13*

Although I had begun this walk on my own, at some point I had joined up with others for a walk around the area organised by GLIAS, the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society, of which I had long been a member, and some of the others taking part in the walk can be seen in this and some later pictures.

This alley is now an entrance to the Regent Quarter, an estate which “is currently arranged in two blocks and comprises approximately 260,730 sq ft of mixed-use real estate, across 12 office buildings and 20 retail and leisure units” which was purchased by Hong Kong based Endurance Land in 2018 who aim to revitalise the 3.5 acre site.

The name Regent Quarter applies to a larger area, mainly within Islington but also including the ‘Lighthouse’ block in Camden which largely grew up around the railway. Back in 1989 around a third of the buildings in the area were vacant, some derelict and the rest largely in poor condition, partly because of the blighting effect of uncertainly over future major developments in the area, much of which was then expected to be demolished for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and in which I became interested through the Kings Cross Railway Lands Group in the late 1980s.

*Old Forge, Business Centre, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4d-15*

This is now a part of the Regent Quarter and I think these particular buildings in the block west of the Caledonian Road reached from the alley above through the opening at the centre of this picture are still present around this internal courtyard. But I can find no mention now of the Old Forge Business Centre name still in the area.

*Old Forge, Business Centre, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-61*

Another picture of the internal courtyard of what was the the Old Forge Business Centre.

*Caledonian Rd, Keystone Crescent, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-65*

We returned to the Caledonian Road and I took this photograph across the road of one end of Keystone Crescent, but our walk conitnued north up the Caledonian Road, though I did photograph Keystone Crescent on other walks in the area.

*Lanitis Fabrics, Caledonia St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-66*

The group turned west down Caledonia Street stopping to admire the 1906 built frontage of the former Kings Cross Laundry, with the large intertwined KCL insignia. More recent signs included those for Lanitis Fabrics Ltd, and Stella Models, with signs calling for Machinists, Overlockers, Pressers, Finishers and Cutters, though I think the business had closed and the building was vacant. The building is still there, much cleaned up.

*York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-51*

Caledonia Street took us to York Way. I’m not sure but I think this may be one of the few listed buildings in the area at 34B, where the Grade II listing text mentions “The highly unusual roof structure is a notable survival.”

If so, the frontage on York Way is rather more impressive than this side of the building, with a nicely symmetrical frontage around an arched carriage entrance, a warehouse for the adjoining black lead works designed by Thomas Marsh Nelson and William Harvey in 1873.

I think this building was where I showed work and gave a presentation as a part of the The London International Documentary Festival in 2010, I think the first time the festival had included still photography.

*Taxi depot, York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-53*

I think the sign at the upper centre of the image once read COACHWORK DEPT with the later addition of MOTOCOL LTD. The sloping ramp to these first floor works was built for horses and this could possibly have been a converted stables.

Now it was a busy depot for London ‘black cab’ taxis, with the driver of one at right using an air line on a tyre and small group talking by a diesel pump.

*Grange Motors, York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-55*

A second picture shows others on the walk going to look more closely at Crash Repair Specialists Grange Motors, while more taxi drivers are now by the pumps. The alley along the side of Grange Motors led to an enclosed yard surrounded by derelict buildings, but I’ve not digitised the couple of pictures I made there. It was a dead end and we had to come back out onto York Way.

To be continued…

The first post on this walk was Kings Cross, St George’s Gardens & More