Somers Town

Suburb, existing between the 1750s or before and now.

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Suburb · * · ·
August
22
2018
Somers Town is a district close to three main line rail termini - Euston, St Pancras and King’s Cross.

Historically, the name Somers Town was used for the larger triangular area between the Pancras, Hampstead, and Euston Roads, but it is now taken to mean the rough rectangle bounded by Pancras Road, Euston Road and Eversholt Street.

Somers Town was named after Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers (1725–1806). The area was originally granted by William III to John Somers (1651–1716), Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham.

In the mid 1750s the New Road was established to bypass the congestion of London; Somers Town lay immediately north of this east-west toll road. In 1784, the first housing was built at the Polygon amid fields, brick works and market gardens on the northern fringes of London. The site of the Polygon is now occupied by a block of council flats called Oakshott Court.

The Polygon deteriorated socially as the surrounding land was subsequently sold off in smaller lots for cheaper housing, especially after the start of construction in the 1830s of the railway lines into Euston, St Pancras and King’s Cross. In this period the area housed a large transient population of labourers and the population density of the area soared. By the late 19th century most of the houses were in multiple occupation, and overcrowding was severe with whole families sometimes living in one room, as confirmed by the social surveys of Charles Booth and Irene Barclay.

When St Luke’s Church, near King’s Cross, was demolished to make way for the construction of the Midland Railway St Pancras Station and its Midland Grand Hotel, the estimated twelve thousand inhabitants of Somers Town at that time were deprived of that place of worship, as the church building was re-erected in Kentish Town. In 1868 the lace merchant and philanthropist George Moore funded a new church, known as Christ Church, and an associated school in Chalton Street with an entrance in Ossulston Street. The school accommodated about six hundred children. Christ Church and the adjacent school were destroyed in a World War II bombing raid and no trace remains today, the site being occupied by a children’s play area and sports court.

Improvement of the slum housing conditions, amongst the worst in the capital, was first undertaken by St Pancras Council in 1906 at Goldington Buildings, at the junction of Pancras Road and Royal College Street, and continued on a larger scale by the St Pancras House Improvement Society (subsequently the St Pancras & Humanist Housing Association, the present owner of Goldington Buildings) which was established in 1924. Further social housing was built by the London County Council, which began construction of the Ossulston Estate in 1927. There remains a small number of older Grade 2 listed properties, mostly Georgian terraced houses.

During the early 1970s the neighbourhood comprising GLC-owned housing in Charrington, Penryn, Platt and Medburn Streets was a centre for the squatting movement.

In the 1980s, some council tenants took advantage of the ’right to buy’ scheme and bought their homes at a substantial discount. Later they moved away from the area. The consequence was an influx of young semi-professional people, resulting in a changing population.

Major construction work along the eastern side of Somers Town was completed in 2008, to allow for the Eurostar trains to arrive at the refurbished St Pancras Station. This involved the excavation of part of the St Pancras Old Churchyard, the human remains being re-interred at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery in East Finchley.

Land at Brill Place, previously earmarked for later phases of the British Library development, became available when the library expansion was cancelled and was used as site offices for the HS1 terminal development and partly to allow for excavation of a tunnel for the new Thameslink station. It was then acquired as the site for the Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation), a major medical research institute.


Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY


Reg Carr   
Added: 10 Feb 2021 12:11 GMT   

Campbellite Meeting
In 1848 the Campbellites (Disciples of Christ) met in Elstree Street, where their congregation was presided over by a pastor named John Black. Their appointed evangelist at the time was called David King, who later became the Editor of the British Millennial Harbinger. The meeting room was visited in July 1848 by Dr John Thomas, who spoke there twice on his two-year ’mission’ to Britain.

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BG   
Added: 20 Dec 2022 02:58 GMT   

Lancing Street, NW1
LANCING STREET

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Wendy    
Added: 22 Mar 2024 15:33 GMT   

Polygon Buildings
Following the demolition of the Polygon, and prior to the construction of Oakshott Court in 1974, 4 tenement type blocks of flats were built on the site at Clarendon Sq/Phoenix Rd called Polygon Buildings. These were primarily for people working for the Midland Railway and subsequently British Rail. My family lived for 5 years in Block C in the 1950s. It seems that very few photos exist of these buildings.

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LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT


Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT   

Road construction and houses completed
New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only.

Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT   

Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS)
One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc.

I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Charles   
Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT   

My House
I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s.

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NH   
Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT   

Telephone House
Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000

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Paul Cox   
Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT   

War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street
Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there.

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Diana   
Added: 28 Feb 2024 13:52 GMT   

New Inn Yard, E1
My great grandparents x 6 lived in New Inn Yard. On this date, their son was baptised in nearby St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch

Source: BDM London, Cripplegate and Shoreditch registers written by church clerk.

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Vic Stanley   
Added: 24 Feb 2024 17:38 GMT   

Postcose
The postcode is SE15, NOT SE1

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Gillian   
Added: 17 Feb 2024 00:08 GMT   

No 36 Upper East Smithfield
My great great grandfather was born at No 36 Upper East Smithfield and spent his early years staring out at a "dead wall" of St Katharine’s Docks. His father was an outfitter and sold clothing for sailors. He describes the place as being backed by tenements in terrible condition and most of the people living there were Irish.

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NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
’Royal Blue’ horse omnibus outside 5 Euston Road The bus carries route information and an advert for Selfridge’s.
Old St Pancras Churchyard Old St Pancras churchyard, served not only as a burial place for the parishioners but also for Roman Catholics from all around London.
Ossulston Estate The Ossulston Estate is a multi-storey council estate built by the London County Council in Somers Town between 1927 and 1931.
Rhodes Farm Rhodes Farm was situated on Hampstead Road.
Somers Town Somers Town is a district close to three main line rail termini - Euston, St Pancras and King’s Cross.
St James Gardens St James Gardens were used as a burial ground between 1790 and 1853.

NEARBY STREETS
Aldenham House, NW1 Aldenham House is located on Aldenham Street (Somers Town)
Aldenham Mews, NW1 Aldenham Mews was situated off Aldenham Street (Somers Town)
Aldenham Street, NW1 Aldenham Street – Richard Platt, 16th century brewer and local landowner, gave land for the endowment of Aldenham School, Hertfordshire (Somers Town)
Ampthill Square, NW1 Ampthill Square is a name which has existed in two different time periods (Somers Town)
Argyle Street, WC1H Argyle Street, originally Manchester Street, was named after the former Argyle House (Bloomsbury)
Argyle Walk, WC1H Argyle Walk is named for Argyll in Scotland (Bloomsbury)
Bagley Walk, N1C Bagley Walk is a location in London (King’s Cross)
Barclay Street, NW1 Barclay Street led from Aldenham Street northwards to Medburn Street (Somers Town)
Barnby Street, NW1 Barnby Street is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Battle Bridge Place, N1C Battle Bridge Place is the traditional name for a newer area of King’s Cross (King’s Cross)
Battle Bridge Road, N1C Battle Bridge Road ran beside the gasholders of Kings Cross (King’s Cross)
Belgrove Street, WC1H Belgrove Street, formerly Belgrave Street, leads south from Euston Road (Bloomsbury)
Bidborough Street, NW1 Bidborough Street is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
Bridgeway Street, NW1 Bridgeway Street is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Brill Place, NW1 Brill Place is named after the former Brill Row in the area (Somers Town)
Brill Row, NW1 Brill Row was one of many small streets which became the basis for a Somers Town market (St Pancras)
Cardington Street, NW1 Cardington Street is a rare London street in that it closed for good as late as 2017 (Euston)
Cecil Rhodes House, NW1 Cecil Rhodes House can be found on Pancras Road (St Pancras)
Chalton House, NW1 Chalton House is a block on Chalton Street (Somers Town)
Chalton Street, NW1 Chalton Street was formerly Charlton Street (Somers Town)
Charlwood House, WC1H Charlwood House is a block on Midhope Street (Bloomsbury)
Charrington Street, NW1 Charrington Street runs south to north and is a continuation of Ossulston Street (Somers Town)
Chenies Place, NW1 Chenies Place is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Somers Town)
Chill Lane, N1C Chill Lane is a location in London (King’s Cross)
Christopher Place, NW1 Christopher Place is a street in Camden Town (St Pancras)
Church Way, NW1 Church Way is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Euston)
Churchway, NW1 Churchway is a street in Camden Town (Euston)
Clarendon Grove, NW1 Clarendon Grove ran south from Clarendon Square (Somers Town)
Clarendon House, NW1 Clarendon House is a block on Werrington Street (Somers Town)
Coach Road, N1C Coach Road is a road in the N1C postcode area (St Pancras)
Cobourg Street, NW1 Cobourg Street is a street in Camden Town (Euston Square)
Cooper’s Lane, NW1 Cooper’s Lane is a road in the NW1 postcode area (St Pancras)
Cranleigh Street, NW1 Cranleigh Street is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Somers Town)
Crestfield Street, WC1H Crestfield Street was previously Chesterfield Street (Bloomsbury)
Crowndale Road, NW1 Crowndale Road was at first called Fig Lane and then Gloucester Place (Somers Town)
Denton Street, N1C Denton Street disappeared under the construction of St Pancras station (St Pancras)
Doric Way, NW1 Doric Way is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Somers Town)
Drummond Crescent, NW1 Drummond Crescent is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Euston)
Duke’s Road, WC1H This is a street in the WC1H postcode area (St Pancras)
Elstree Street, N1C Elstree Street once laid off of St Pancras Road (St Pancras)
Euston House, NW1 Euston House is a block on Eversholt Street (Euston)
Euston Road, N1C The easternmost section of the Euston Road lies in the N1 postcode and runs along the facade of Kings Cross Station (King’s Cross)
Euston Square, NW1 This is a street in the NW1 postcode area (St Pancras)
Evergreen House, NW1 Evergreen House is a block on Euston Road (St Pancras)
Eversholt House, NW1 Eversholt House is a block on Eversholt Street (Somers Town)
Eversholt Street, NW1 Eversholt Street connects Euston with Camden Town (Somers Town)
Flaxman Terrace, WC1H Flaxman Terrace connects Burton Street with Cartwright Gardens (Bloomsbury)
Gladwin House, NW1 Gladwin House is a block on Cranleigh Street (Somers Town)
Godwin Court, NW1 Godwin Court is a block on Crowndale Road (Somers Town)
Goldington Street, NW1 Goldington Street is a street in Camden Town (St Pancras)
Goods Way, N1C Goods Way runs from Pancras Road to York Way (King’s Cross)
Goodwin Court, NW1 Goodwin Court is located on Goodwin Court (Somers Town)
Grafton Place, NW1 Grafton Place is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Euston)
Gridiron Building, N1C A street within the N1C postcode (King’s Cross)
Hamilton House, WC1H Residential block (Bloomsbury)
Hampden Close, NW1 Hampden Close is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Hastings Street, WC1H Hastings Street is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
Ian Hamilton House, NW1 Ian Hamilton House is a block on Doric Way (Euston)
Jessel House, WC1H Jessel House is a building on Judd Street (Bloomsbury)
John Dodgson House, WC1H John Dodgson House is sited on Bidborough Street (Bloomsbury)
Johnson House, NW1 Johnson House is a block on Cranleigh Street (Somers Town)
Judd Street, NW1 This is a street in the NW1 postcode area (Bloomsbury)
Judd Street, WC1H Judd Street is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
Kellet House, WC1H Kellet House is a block on Tankerton Street (Bloomsbury)
Kelvin House, WC1H Kelvin House is a block on Judd Street (Bloomsbury)
King’s Boulevard, N1C King’s Boulevard is a road in the N1C postcode area (King’s Cross)
King’s Cross Square, N1C King’s Cross Square is a road in the N1C postcode area (King’s Cross)
Lancing Street, NW1 Lancing Street is a street in Camden Town (Euston)
Lidlington Place, NW1 Lidlington Place, named after a village in Bedfordshire, connects Houghton Place and Eversholt Street (Somers Town)
Mabledon Place, WC1H After Mabledon in Kent - home county of local 16th-century landowner Andrew Judd (Bloomsbury)
Mayford, NW1 Mayford is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Medburn Street, NW1 Medburn Street is named after a farm between Elstree and Radlett in Hertfordshire (Somers Town)
Midhope Street, WC1H Midhope Street was once known as Wood Street (Bloomsbury)
Midland Road, N1C Midland Road is a road in the N1C postcode area (St Pancras)
Noahs Yard, N1 A street within the N1 postcode (King’s Cross)
Northam’s Buildings, NW1 Northam’s Buildings was swept away by the building of St Pancras station (St Pancras)
Oakley Square, NW1 Oakley Square is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Oakshott Court, NW1 Oakshott Court is a block on Polygon Road (Somers Town)
One Kings Cross, N1C A street within the N1C postcode (King’s Cross)
One Pancras Square, N1C A street within the N1C postcode (King’s Cross)
Ossulston Street, NW1 Ossulston Street is a street in Camden Town (St Pancras)
Pancras Road, N1C Pancras Road is a road in the N1C postcode area (King’s Cross)
Pancras Road, NW1 Pancras Road is a street in Camden Town (St Pancras)
Pancras Square, N1C This is a street in the N1C postcode area (King’s Cross)
Penryn Street, NW1 Penryn Street is a road in the NW1 postcode area (St Pancras)
Perry Street, N1C Perry Street was buried by St Pancras station (St Pancras)
Phoenix Road, NW1 Phoenix Road is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
PO Box 4, N1C A street within the N1 postcode (King’s Cross)
PO Box 4, NW1 Flaxman Terrace is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Bloomsbury)
PO Box 4, WC1H A street within the N1C postcode (St Pancras)
Polygon Road, NW1 Polygon Road is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Purchese Street, NW1 Purchese Street is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Somers Town)
Ryedale House, NW1 Ryedale House is a block on Eversholt Street (Somers Town)
Sandwich House, WC1H Sandwich House is a block on Sandwich Street (Bloomsbury)
Seymour House, NW1 Residential block (Euston)
Sinclair House, WC1H Residential block (Bloomsbury)
Smith Street, N1C Smith Street was buried under St Pancras station (St Pancras)
Somers Close, NW1 Somers Close is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Somers Town)
Speedy Place, WC1H Speedy Place is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
St Margarets House, NW1 St Margarets House is a block on Polygon Road (Somers Town)
St Martin’s House, NW1 St Martin’s House is a block on Polygon Road (Somers Town)
St Richard’s House, NW1 St Richard’s House is a block on Eversholt Street (Somers Town)
St. Chad’s Street, WC1H St. Chad’s Street is a road in the WC1X postcode area (Bloomsbury)
St. Philip’s Way, N1C A street within the N1C postcode (St Pancras)
Stanley Building, N1C Stanley Building is a block on Pancras Square (King’s Cross)
Starcross Street, NW1 Starcross Street is a street in Camden Town (Euston)
Tankerton House, WC1H Tankerton House is a building on Tankerton Street (Bloomsbury)
Tankerton Street, WC1H Tankerton Street is a road in the WC1H postcode area (Bloomsbury)
Thanet House, WC1H Thanet House is a block on Thanet Street (Bloomsbury)
Thanet Street, WC1H Thanet Street is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
The Circle, N1C The Circle is a road in the N1C postcode area (St Pancras)
The Gridiron, N1C A street within the N1C postcode (King’s Cross)
The Hub, N1 Block in Kings Cross (King’s Cross)
The Polygon The Polygon was an early housing estate, a Georgian building with 15 sides and three storeys that contained 32 houses. (Somers Town)
Tonbridge Street, WC1H Tonbridge Street is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
Unity Mews, NW1 Unity Mews is a road in the NW1 postcode area (Somers Town)
Walker House, NW1 Walker House is a building on Unnamed Road (Somers Town)
Watford Street, NW1 Watford Street was cleared away in the 1860s to make way to St Pancras station (St Pancras)
Wellesley House, NW1 Wellesley House can be found on Wellesley Place (Euston)
Werrington Street, NW1 Werrington Street is a street in Camden Town (Somers Town)
Whidborne Street, WC1H Whidborne Street is one of the streets of London in the WC1H postal area (Bloomsbury)
Whittlebury Street, NW1 Whittlebury Street once laid to the west of Euston station (Euston)
Wilsted Street, NW1 Wilsted Street was the original name for the lower end of Ossulston Street (St Pancras)
Wolcot House, NW1 Wolcot House is a block on Werrington Street (Somers Town)
York Road Curve, N1 York Road Curve is a road in the N1 postcode area (King’s Cross)
York Way, N1 York Way has been a thoroughfare since the twelfth century (King’s Cross)

NEARBY PUBS
Cock Tavern The Cock Tavern is on the corner of Phoenix Road and Chalton Street.


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