St Pancras Chambers

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="005fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>  </B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial Rounded MT Bold" ><B>www.derelictlondon.com</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG SRC="02c5d430.jpg" border=0 width="93" height="67" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=50 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="006d2b03.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#C0C0C0" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="derelict_london_com.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Derelict London.com"><U><I><IMG SRC="3c896370.gif" border=0 width="150" height="55" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="68e5e370.jpg" border=0 width="350" height="311" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>St Pancras Chambers</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > is the Grade 1 listed Gothic style building which fronts St Pancras</FONT></div> <div> Station. Built as <B>The Midland Grand Hotel,</B> taking 8 years to build from 1868,  it was one of </div> <div> the most oppulent hotels in London during its heyday. The hotel closed in 1935 as its facilities were</div> <div> outdated and became too expensive to run and refurbish. It was then used as railway offices and </div> <div> renamed  St Pancras Chambers. In the 1980's the building failed its fire certificate and has remained </div> <div> empty ever since. A scheme underways  is to develop it into an international deluxe Marriott hotel.</div> <bR> <div> "To make way for St Pancras Station and the hotel, as well as the extensive goods depot to the north, comprising </div> <div> altogether some fifty acres, no less than three thousand houses in Somers Town and Agar Town were demolished, </div> <div> including Skinner Street, King's Road, and Brill Street, together with some of the worst slums in London extending </div> <div> more or less from Euston Road to Camden Square and the North London Railway. Somers Town was built after 1790</div> <div>  at the time of the French Revolution, but Agar Town, commenced about 1840 and happily wiped out altogether by the</div> <div>  former Midland Railway..</div> <bR> <div> It was during the construction of the approaches to St Pancras through the burial ground of the church that a body in a </div> <div> coffin was exposed, causing a great scandal, Proper reburial was arranged and a young assistant named Thomas Hardy </div> <div> was sent to supervise; two poems resulted from the experience."</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Ground Floor:</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="69029df0.jpg" border=0 width="297" height="223" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="69229df0.jpg" border=0 width="297" height="223" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="694c70c0.jpg" border=0 width="199" height="268" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <IMG SRC="69acb0e0.jpg" border=0 width="203" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Grand Staircase (Looking up)</B></div> <div> "Many of the visitors to the hotel have reported seeing and feeling the presence of </div> <div> spirits in this area of the hotel and some have even refused to walk up the stairs."</div> <div> <IMG SRC="69c75180.jpg" border=0 width="373" height="280" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <bR> <div> <B>First Floor</B></div> <div> A Chaucerian scene from the "Romance of the Rose" is the only canvas</div> <div> mural left in the building. Painted by Thomas Wallis Hay.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="69e3b170.jpg" border=0 width="315" height="279" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Fireplaces in the Ladies Drawing Room </B></div> <div> which became known as the Ladies' Smoking Room</div> <div> in the 1890's and was the first of its kind in London. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="6a0f4f60.jpg" border=0 width="244" height="246" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="6a225f60.jpg" border=0 width="293" height="246" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>View from the first floor</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="6e010cc0.jpg" border=0 width="272" height="204" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="6df0ecb0.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="203" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Gentlemens Toilets - First Floor </B></div> <div>  taken during the Derelict Sensation Exhibition Nov 2003</div> <div> <IMG SRC="6a6c6080.jpg" border=0 width="198" height="264" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="6a853060.jpg" border=0 width="339" height="262" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="6aa89cc0.png" border=0 width="137" height="204" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> This venue was the Subject of an investigation on Living TV's "Most Haunted"</div> <div> <B>Ghosts</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> of The Midland Grand</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>During the late 1880’s it was documented that an employee of the hotel discovered that she was pregnant. </B></div> <div> <B>Unable to cope with the consequences of having a child out of wedlock, she is said to have thrown herself </B></div> <div> <B>down the public staircase of the east wing. The newspapers claimed there was no foul play, it was believed </B></div> <div> <B>she committed suicide. Due to this occurance, a handrail was installed to prevent any further ‘accidents’.</B></div> <div> <B> She is said to reappear in the hotel, making her presence known.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Originally built on the site of a Roman settlement and also part of the cemetery of St Pancras Old Church, </B></div> <div> <B>the hotel hosts a number of rumours and sightings of paranormal activity. In the basement of the hotel, </B></div> <div> <B>visitors have reported visions of Roman soldiers marching through the darkness. </B></div> <div> <B>One Security guard witnessed a drip of water running down his neck as he patrolled the basement, </B></div> <div> <B>but when he wiped his neck, it was dry...</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>More peculiarly is the ghost of room 10. Many sightings have been made of a man walking up the rear staffing </B></div> <div> <B>staircase and when chased he runs away. This staircase only goes to room 10 and when investigated, the room </B></div> <div> <B>is empty.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>There have been many other sightings of apparitions on the grand stairwell and noises of doors opening </B></div> <div> <B>and objects moving have left people feeling uneasy. The 300 plus rooms in the derelict hotel act as a haven</B></div> <div> <B> to wandering spirits of time gone by and even though the building is relatively modern, the history of the site</B></div> <div> <B> goes back to BC years.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The ladies toilets on the ground floor have also been subject to speculation that ghosts are present in the building. </B></div> <div> <B>Some have even said they felt watched as they toured the derelict property</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>There have been 2 other deaths in the hotel, both of which have peculiar events surrounding them. </B></div> <div> <B>In one of the towers, the main water tank was housed to provide running water for the hotel. </B></div> <div> <B>In the summer, the staff would sun bathe on the roof and swim in the tank unbeknown to the rest of the hotel. </B></div> <div> <B>One of the staff was found dead in the tank after days of searching. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Also, Gilbert Scott’s grandson died of a heart attack while staying in the hotel, but strangely he had booked in </B></div> <div> <B>under a false name and was staying incognito. Could there be more to it?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It has also been suggested that</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> various laylines converge on the spot where the station</B></FONT></div> <div> <B> and hotel were erected</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>  making it an ideal spot for paranormal activity! </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I> </I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I>see also</I></FONT><I>  </I><A HREF="id555.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St Pancras Channel Tunnel"><U><I>St Pancras & Kings Cross stations (Channel Tunnel Railink-CTRL)</I></U></A><I> page</I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="derelict_london_com.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Derelict London.com"><U><I><IMG SRC="3c896370.gif" border=0 width="150" height="55" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>