St Pancras Waterpoint tour - Saturday 18 July at 11am

The tour starts at 11am and lasts 1 hour. Experienced guides describe the history of the building as well the adjacent Regent's Canal, the former Kings Cross goods depot and the former coal drops.

The tour starts at the gate in Camley Street which is close to the entrance to Camley Street Natural Park and the western end of the Somers Town Bridge. Postcode N1C 4PN. The what3words location is survey.paid.broker.

The Waterpoint is a significant building, that was constructed in 1872 to supply water to the rapidly growing steam railway network at St Pancras,

It was designed by the office of Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for the magnificent Midland Grand Hotel. The ornate brickwork and elaborate detailing is an indication of the importance of engineering to the Victorians.

At around 9m x 6m and three stories high, it is an impressive presence. The top floor contains a vast 2,400 cubic foot capacity cast iron water tank which supplied the increasing number of steam engines flowing in and out of the station.

In 2001, the development of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link Terminus meant the Waterpoint was threatened with demolition. As the building was of such architectural and engineering importance, English Heritage intervened and an agreement was reached with the developers to find a way to move it instead. It was decided that the building would be sliced into sections, hoisted onto a transporter and moved by road.

Two sections were lifted by one of the largest available mobile cranes in the UK and lowered into their own specialist transporters for the painstaking 700 metre journey. A second very large crane was in position at the reception site to lift them into their new position where a heavily reinforced concrete slab that spans between the two massive viaduct walls had been cast to receive the 350 tonne building.

The actual removal started on 25th November 2001 and, just three days later, the Waterpoint stood firm in its new home. It now has superb views over London from the viewing platform constructed in the old water tank. Magnificent views over London can be enjoyed from the viewing platform accessed by a newly constructed staircase.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

N1C 4PN, St Pancras Yacht Basin, London, United Kingdom

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