Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks & Memorial Garden

Hidden away on a small piece of woodland, in the middle of a large industrial park, is a well kept lawn and some interesting memorials. This is the Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks Memorial Garden.

It is hard to imagine, now, but this entire area that comprises the memorial park and new industrial park was once marshland. 

In the 1800s, William Congreve built his rocket factory here. His rockets were based on an Indian design that had proved effective against the East India Company. He would go on to develop three types of rocket that travelled various distances and had different warheads. 

Gasholder Park

The guide frame for gasholder No. 8.

Some of the most striking buildings that have been part of the King's Cross skyline, for over 150 years, are the gasholders. These giant cast-iron buildings were in use until the late 20th century, but soon became redundant and, along with the rest of the area, fell into disrepair. 

I have seen these gasholders from trains, but never up close, so was looking forward to paying them a visit. 

Walking along the Regent's Canal, from Camden, these iconic buildings now stand just east of the main rail line, at St Pancras Basin.

One of them stands completely empty with just its wrought iron columns and girders surrounding the small park at its centre. 

Erin & Keilyn checking out their reflections in Gasholder No. 8.

It is a wonderful place to sit and relax, with mirrored surfaces reflecting the ambient light, which is supplemented in the evening with extra lighting.

Three other gasholders have been converted into apartments with roof gardens, offering amazing views across the city for those lucky enough to live here.

Fortunately for King's Cross, but not for Waterloo, the decision to move the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Waterloo to St Pancras was what caused the regeneration of the area.

With grassy areas and the canal, this is a great place to stroll on a warm day, whether as a stop-off on your way to Coal Drops Yard and further east, or heading west to Camden and onto Little Venice.

Coal Drops Yard & Granary Square

Granary Square, looking towards Coal Drops buildings.

Wednesday February 16, 2022

Walking along the Regent's Canal from St John's Wood station Keilyn and I ended up at Coal Drops Yard, King's Cross. This historic area of London has gone through a major overhaul and is fast becoming one of the top destinations in the area.

Coal Drops Yard

This historic area of London has a history dating back to the 1850s, when London ran on coal, earning her the nickname of the 'Big Smoke'. The buildings would have been full of people, cargo and coal. Outside would have been a throng of workers, sellers, businessmen and the such, too.

But, as invention and new technologies took hold, her buildings became empty and were soon left derelict. The throng of people diminishing, much like the buildings

Fortunately, these buildings have now been repurposed and the area is once again a bustling hub.

The entire area is a wonderful place to explore. From shops and restaurants, to bars and cafes and boutique retail outlets. The coal drops and the square, which incorporates a water feature that is wonderfully lit with coloured lights, gets a lot of use in warm weather.

The Fish and Coal buildings, now known as The Coal Office.

And we explored most of it. Keilyn, obviously, was more interested in exploring the water feature, but without getting too wet.

A terraced seating area allows for people to sit by the calm water, on summer's evenings, to enjoy the peace or, perhaps, catch a movie at the pop-up cinema.

Keilyn in the water feature.

The entire area is split into five distinct area: Canopy Market, Coal Drops Yard, Gasholder Park, Granary Square and Lewis Cubitt Park.

Once we had explored what we could we made our way, via St Pancras Old Church, to Euston station, from where we caught a train home.