St Pancras train station was designed by William Barlow. Completed in 1868, it became the largest enclosed space in the world. The height and width of the single-span iron roof with its magnificent glazed centre were not to be surpassed for more than two decades.

Barlow built the station’s platforms 18ft above ground level. This was not only to bridge the Regents Canal to the north of the station but also gave passengers the most elegant and regal entrance into London. In order to achieve this height, Barlow ordered 850 iron columns capable of bearing 55 tons, to be driven into the foundations to create the subterranean ‘Undercroft’.

The Undercroft had one other bonus – an onsite storage facility. As the main import at St Pancras at that time was pale ale being brewed in the Midlands, the master engineer ordered the gap between each column to correspond exactly with the width of three barrels of ale. So it was that up to 28 million pints were stored in the Undercroft at any one time. Truly, a station built on beer!

The greatest threat to the station came in 1966 with plans to demolish St Pancras. Fortunately, public opinion had been sharpened by the demolition of the Euston Arch just a few years before. Sir John Betjeman, then Poet Laureat, took up the cause to protect the station and, in 1967; St Pancras was finally awarded Grade 1 listing.

Now owned by High Speed 1 and with an £800 million restoration and modernisation programme, St Pancras International is again an iconic landmark station – back among the very best in the world A world class restaurant, fresh food market and award winning gastro pub mix with coffee shops and retail outlets, many of which have never been in a station before, to make St Pancras International truly unique.

Events such as the Station Sessions play a key role in distinguishing St Pancras International as a premier meeting place, whether you’re getting on a train or not.