St Pancras New Church Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Pancras Church
St Pancras Church, 2007
Location	Euston Road, London
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Liberal
History
Dedicated	1822
Architecture
Architect(s)	William and Henry William Inwood
Style	Neoclassical, Greek Revival
Years built	1819
Administration
Diocese	London

St Pancras Church is a famous church in St Pancras, London. It was built between 1819 and 1822 by architects William Inwood and his son Henry William Inwood. This church is considered one of England's most important churches from the 1800s. It is a Grade I listed building, which means it's a very special historic place.

Where is St Pancras Church Located?
Building the Church: A Look at Its History
The Unique Architecture of St Pancras Church
St Pancras Church Today
Gallery
See also

Where is St Pancras Church Located?

The church is in the southern part of the historic area of St Pancras. It is near the border with the area of Bloomsbury. You can find it on the south side of Euston Road, at the corner of Upper Woburn Place. This is in the London Borough of Camden.

When the church was built, its front faced Euston Square. This square was built on both sides of what was then called the "New Road."

The old areas of Paddington, St Marylebone, and St Pancras in 1834.

The church was meant to be the main church for the large area of St Pancras, London. This area stretched from near Oxford Street all the way north to Highgate. The original church, St Pancras Old Church, was a small, old building further north. It had been neglected because many people moved to the northern part of the parish. By the early 1800s, services were only held there once a month. Other services took place in a chapel in Kentish Town.

London was growing, and more people were moving into the southern part of St Pancras. So, a new church was needed. After the new church opened, the Old Church became a smaller, helper church. Later, it got its own separate church area. During the 1800s, many more churches were built to serve the growing population. By 1890, the original St Pancras area had 33 church districts.

Building the Church: A Look at Its History

St Pancras New Church soon after it was finished in the 1820s.

The church was mainly built for the new parts of the parish near Euston Road. The decision to build St Pancras Church was made in 1816. Many architects submitted their designs. The designs by William Inwood and his son Henry William Inwood were chosen. Isaac Seabrook was the builder.

The first stone was laid by the Duke of York on July 1, 1819. A Greek message was carved into the stone. It meant: "May the light of the blessed Gospel thus ever illuminate the dark temples of the Heathen."

The Bishop of London officially opened the church on May 7, 1822. The vicar of St Pancras, James Moore, gave the sermon. The total cost of the church, including the land and furniture, was £76,679. This made it the most expensive church built in London since St Paul's Cathedral. It was designed to hold 2,500 people.

The Unique Architecture of St Pancras Church

The church is built in a Greek Revival style. This means it looks like ancient Greek buildings. It uses the Ionic order, a specific style of columns. The church is made of brick, covered with Portland stone. The front porch and the tower above the roof are made entirely of stone. All the outside decorations, like the tops of the columns, are made of terracotta.

The Inwoods got their ideas from two ancient Greek buildings in Athens: the Erechtheum and the Tower of the Winds. The church's doorways look very much like those of the Erechtheum. Many other decorations are also similar. Henry William Inwood was in Athens when the plans for St Pancras were approved. He brought back plaster copies of parts of the Erechtheum. He also brought some old pieces he found.

The church pictured in 1948.

The west end of the church looks like other famous churches, such as St Martin-in-the-Fields. The round, domed ceiling in the entrance hall is like the Tower of the Winds. The tower above also uses details from that ancient building. At the east end, there is a rounded section called an apse. On each side of the apse are two special features: tribunes. These are designed to look like the Erechtheum. They have roofs supported by caryatids. These are statues of women used as columns.

Unlike the caryatids on the Erechtheum, each one here holds a torch or an empty jug. This is fitting because they are above the entrances to the burial vault. Behind these figures, there is a stone coffin. The decorative edges of the roof have lion's heads. The caryatids are made of terracotta. They were built in sections around iron columns. John Charles Felix Rossi created them. He also made all the other terracotta parts of the building. The upper parts of the tribunes were used as rooms for the clergy.

You enter the church through three doorways under the front porch. There are no side doors. Inside, the church has a flat ceiling that spans 60 feet (about 18 meters) without any supports. There are also balconies supported by iron columns. The inside of the apse looks like half of a round temple. It has six columns, painted to look like marble.

The church's pulpit and reading desk were made from wood. This wood came from the Fairlop Oak. This was a famous tree in Hainault Forest in Essex. It fell during a storm in 1820.

The crypt is a large underground area that runs the entire length of the church. It was designed to hold 2,000 coffins. However, fewer than 500 burials happened there. In 1854, burying people in London churches stopped. The crypt was used as an air-raid shelter during both World Wars. Today, it is used as an art gallery.

The church was closed for two years starting in 1951. It needed repairs because of wood rot and damage from the war. A new North Chapel was added in 1970. The inside of the church was restored again in 1981. After the 7 July 2005 London bombings, people left flowers on the church steps. The building is a Grade I listed building.

St Pancras Church Today

St Pancras Church is still an active place of worship. The Revd Anne Stevens is the current Vicar. Besides regular services, the church often hosts community events, concerts, and talks. Art exhibitions are held in the crypt (www.cryptgallery.org.uk). The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music started at St Pancras in 2002. It continues to be based there today (2022).