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UCL History Department helps mark 150 years of St Pancras Station
In 2018, UCL's History Department was commissioned to work on a special project as part of St Pancras’ 150th anniversary celebrations.
22 June 2021
25 undergraduate and master’s students were brought in to help in a project to uncover relevant historical sources about the world-famous station.
Working with organisations such as the British Library and the London Transport Museum, the students found over 150 historical items, including photographs, stories, drawings, facts and historic clippings.
The project resulted in a commemorative book 150 Facts for 150 Years and public displays, helping the station tell a compelling story about its rich history.
The work brought together many revealing and little-known details about the long and tumultuous past of this iconic building and its local surroundings. From the opening of what was once the largest single-span arch in the world, to the reason Midland Railway built a special viaduct to travel over St Pancras.
The work was commissioned by the owners of the station, HS1 Ltd, and facilitated by UCL Consultants, part of UCL Innovation & Enterprise.
UCL’s History Department, which dates back to 1830, is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world for the quality of its research and teaching.
Commercial Director of HS1 Ltd, Wendy Spinks, commented: “The UCL research team helped deliver truly memorable celebrations of our 150th anniversary. Their work helped us to tell a compelling story about St Pancras International’s rich 150-year history to the general public, station visitors and rail enthusiasts alike.”
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Article photo © National Railway Museum/Science & Society Picture Library