St Pancras Chambers - A Brief History
St. Pancras Chambers is the Grade I listed Gothic style building, which fronts St Pancras Station.
It was build as the Midlands Grand Hotel between 1868 and 1876 to designs by Sir George
Gilbert Scott. The hotel was the result of a competition held by the Midlands Railway Company
to find a suitably impressive design for their terminus hotel.
In its heyday, the Midland Grand Hotel was one of the most opulent in London. The Building
had many innovative features including hydraulic 'ascending chambers', revolving doors and a
fireproof floor construction, but still relied on armies of chambermaids to carry coal and
hot water to each of the guest bedrooms.
The hotel closed in 1935 as its facilities were outdated and it became too expensive to run
and refurbish. It was then used as railway offices and renamed St Pancras Chambers. In the
1960's the building was saved from demolition and given Grade I listed status in recognition
of its importance as a great example of high Victorian Gothic architecture.
In the 1980's the building failed its fire certificate and has been empty ever since. More
recently, the exterior of the building was restored to its original condition, and made
structurally sound and weatherproof. The work was finished in March 1995 and cost around
£10 million funded by British Rail, with grant support from English Heritage. Whilst the
interior of the building was neglected, much of the original decoration, including stencilling,
mosaics and ornamental ceilings, survives behind years of decoration and alterations.
Current Usage
St. Pancras Chambers has been a popular film, photographic and exhibition location. However,
due to the current building works filming is no longer possible but photo shoots and small
scale events are still permitted.
Public access to the building is possible on most weekdays between 10am and 5pm but is limited to
the ground floor, through organised tours and open days.
Development Proposals
In June 1996, St. Pancras Chambers was transferred to London and Continental Railways (LCR).
Following an extensive development competition the LCR selected the Chambers Group as the
preferred developer for the building.
The proposed scheme will see the Chambers returned to its former glory by developing it in
part as an international deluxe Marriott Hotel, with the small staff rooms on the upper floors
converted to loft apartments. In order to provide additional modern hotel accommodation,
there will be a sympathetically designed hotel extension, built at the rear. Plans for
the restoration of the main public rooms within the building are included within the scheme.
LCR is currently concluding contractual negotiations with the Chambers Group and it is anticipated that
the St Pancras Chambers refurbishment works will run along side the construction of the second
section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
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