Tuesday 22 May 2012

ABCWednesday - St Pancras

 This week for ABC Wednesday I'm taking you on a journey to these dreaming spires designed by George Gilbert Scott. 
Walk past the five star hotel entrance,
 first looking up to those wonderful sort of Italianate Gothic windows, (see its sumptuous interior in this video trip here)
But look at the time - lets walk

 through to St Pancras Station
Past the booking office which is now a bar.

to  the John Betjeman statue by the sculptor Martin Jennings, the statue commemorates the poet's successful campaign to save the station from demolition in the 1960s, an era when we lost many Victorian buildings. The 2-metre (6 ft 7 in)-high statue stands on a flat disc slate from my own county of Cumbria inscribed with lines from Betjeman's poem Cornish Cliffs:
"And in the shadowless unclouded glare / Deep blue above us fades to whiteness where / A misty sea-line meets the wash of air".  
The sky blue of the paint is close to the original colour applied in 1868-77 , the colour which the designer of the railway shed William Henry Barlow chose was so when passengers looked up on a fine day the structure would melt away in the sky.  The statue gazes up into Barlow's roof
which on the day I took this was dull (although one of the Olympic rings was blue) but you can always rely on finding a sunny day photo on
Wikipedia, complete with Eurostar trains, about to wizz off to the continent.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey from A to Z

12 comments:

photowannabe said...

So glad this amazing Structure was Saved!!

VioletSky said...

This has to be one of the most beautiful stations.

Roger Owen Green said...

light and airy structure, worth SAVING

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Leslie: said...

GorgeouS Station and so glad for you all that it was Saved from deStruction!

Leslie
abcw team

Hildred said...

So glad to see the John Betjeman statue and the imagery of those lovely words. I have pleasant memories of the Eurostar and that wonderful whizzing undersea journey across the channel.

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

At first, I thought it said, 'pancreas' until I re-read it! LOL! What a beautiful and stunning building! Reminds me of the train station depicted in the movie, Hugo.

Rajesh said...

Beautiful shots of the place. Awesome architecture.

Luna Miranda said...

Spectacular architecture! i love the Gothic windows and spires.

Black Jack's Carol said...

I am most grateful to John Betjeman for his Shrewd foresight. I hope I will see this hotel one day. The video you chose was excellent!

Chubskulit Rose said...

So beautiful!

S is for..
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

Kate said...

Perfect photos for today!

Meryl said...

Charming. Very cool sculpture...glad it was saved.