King's Cross, London

King's Cross is an inner-city district in London. It spreads over an area that includes parts of the London Borough of Camden and the London Borough of Islington, some 2.5 miles (4.8 km) to the north of Charing Cross.

The name King's Cross is said to date back to 1835, when King George IV built a sixty-foot structure crowned by a statue of himself. That structure is the "King's Cross", but it was highly unpopular with the locals. It only stood for ten years, and was demolished in 1845, by which time the name King's Cross has stuck.

St George the Martyr Southwark, London
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King%27s_Cross_platform_7.jpg
Author: Mike Peel


Not a particularly affluent neighbourhood, the King's Cross area was used as a rail transportation hub for London. It has the highest concentration of railway stations in the city, with the King's Cross Railway Station side-by-side to the St Pancras Railway Station, while the Euston Road Railway Station is not far away.

By the 1980's, the King's Cross area has slipped to become a decadent part of town, notorious for drug peddling and prostitution. This reputation kept rent low and "quality tenants" away.

Traffic on the streets at King's Cross
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King%27s_Cross_traffic_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1468180.jpg
Author: Stephan McKay


Revitalization of the King's Cross area began in 1992, with the opening of the London Canal Museum, and other projects such as the Gagosian Gallery and the present location for the British Library. The introduction of the high speed train link to St Pancras International Station was another catalyst to the development of King's Cross, which should see itself being reinvented and gentrified over the years.

How to reach King's Cross

Take the Hammersmith & City Line, Circle Line, Metropolitan Line, Northern Line, Piccadilly Line or Victoria Line to the King's Cross St Pancras Tube Station.

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.