King’s Cross took its name in the 1830s from a monument to King George IV which stood near where the station now is. In the 19th century, the area was one of London’s poorest districts and the haunt of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.
London Canal Museum
Even if you’re not interested in canals, you’ll enjoy the history of ice cream told in this former ice warehouse. Ice was only one of the unusual cargoes carried by canal boat, and you can learn more about the boats, the people and their horses in this remarkable museum.
12-13 New Wharf Road N1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 0836
Tube: King’s Cross
www.canalmuseum.org.uk
The Foundling Museum
The Foundling Hospital was London’s first home for abandoned babies and a former pupil, John Brownlow, was the inspiration for Dickens’ Oliver Twist. The museum tells its history, with a poignant collection of loving tokens left by mothers forced to give up their infants.
40 Brunswick Square WC1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 3600
Tube: King’s Cross
www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Camley Street Natural Park
The last thing you expect amid the industrial heritage of King’s Cross is this 0.8 hectare (two-acre) wildlife reserve on the banks of the Regent’s Canal. Ponds and woods shelter birds and butterflies, several species of mammals and a wide range of plants.
Camley Street NW1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7833 2311
Tube: King’s Cross
The Wellcome Collection
Sir Henry Wellcome made his fortune in pharmaceuticals and founded a museum of medicine, with almost one million objects. You can see Napoleon's toothbrush or George III's hair, a Victorian chastity belt or a whale’s heart. And the stylish cafeteria is a real find in itself.
183 Euston Road NW1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7611 2222
Tube: King’s Cross
www.wellcomecollection.org
Gagosian Art Gallery
Art dealer Larry Gagosian - Jeff Koons and Rachel Whiteread are among those he represents - opened his second London gallery here in 2004. His other galleries range from Moscow to Beverly Hills, with the latest opening being in Rome.
6-24 Britannia Street WC1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 9960
Tube: King’s Cross
www.gagosian.com
St Pancras Parish Church
The present church dates to 1822 and was the most expensive in London after St Paul’s Cathedral. The design is based on the Temple of the Erectheum on the Acropolis in Athens but the caryatids guarding the crypt were made too high and had to be cut at the waist – giving an odd look.
Euston Road NW1
Tube: King’s Cross
www.stpancraschurch.org
The Place
London Contemporary Dance School, Richard Alston Dance Company and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre all call The Place home, making it the UK’s leading crucible of contemporary dance.
17 Duke's Road WC1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7121 1000
Tube: King’s Cross
www.theplace.org.uk
King’s Cross
Once the haunt of Oliver Twist, the area’s most famous boy now is Harry Potter who left for Hogwarts from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. You might think this plaque is in an odd, out-of-the-way spot. That’s because author JK Rowling actually had Euston Station in mind.
King’s Cross Station WC1
Tube: King’s Cross
King’s Cross
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