Welcome to St Pancras Internation Station! Let’s talk about Lucy’s arrival in London.

In the TV show, Lucy’s first sight of London after leaving home is standing in the famous entrance to St Pancras Station, peering out into the ghost-ridden metropolis. Technically, having come from her home county of Northumbria, which is in the north-east of England, Lucy would have arrived at Kings Cross station, next door. St Pancras is more visually impressive, and the two underground stations are linked, so it’s possible that (like most people) Lucy got lost in the maze of passageways and that’s why she emerged from St Pancras rather than King’s Cross!

St Pancras station is a proper Gothic London landmark. Built as The Midland Grand Hotel in the latter half of the 19th century, it lies as close as it can get to the edge of the boundary where the government would allow railways into the city. This is why you have at least three of London’s major railway termini in a line along the same road – Euston Road.
Euston station to the west brings trains from the north-west of England and Scotland. St Pancras brings trains from the Midlands, Kings Cross brings trains from the north-east.

Kings Cross station next door is also an impressive building, even if it isn’t as big or as grand as St Pancras.

The original St Pancras parish church was large, with an extensive graveyard. When St Pancras station was built, it cut into the graves. The builders weren’t very careful, and the site was strewn with skulls and bones. The vicar of the church objected and a special overseer was appointed to ensure that the graves were handled respectfully. You won’t have heard of the overseer, but you might have heard of his assistant – Thomas Hardy, the author of Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
Sir Gilbert George Scott was the architect of The Grand Midland Hotel, not to be confused with his numerous other relatives with various combinations of his name. (Giles Gilbert Scott, George Scott etc – you get the idea). His younger son (Giles Gilbert Scott) designed, among other places, Battersea Power Station, Fairfax’s Offices (aka The Tate Modern) and some designs of the red telephone boxes!