Tag: Hardy Tree

Let’s face it St Pancras/Kings Cross station is somewhere you pass through, an interchange for trains out of London. You might exit here for The British Library, which is just across the road, but there is much history here to see if you just wander….or in my case plan!

I’d heard about the Hardy tree for ages and seen photos of it online. I knew it was part of St Pancras Old Church gardens, but I had no idea where that was, and how many times I’d skirted around the edges of it without ever knowing. It was time to seek it out.

The location is easy to find. Depending on which exit you take from St Pancras you need to find Midland Road, general exit for The British Library. Here you cross a road and then turn right into Midland Road. St Pancras Old Church stands with its back to the rail lines and once stood alongside The Fleet River, one of the ‘lost’ rivers of London. There are many lost rivers. Most are now built over, but there is still evidence of them and there are many walks you can take to follow lost rivers. The Fleet was a big river in its day. People fished here, the wealthy lived alongside parts, but eventually everything ended up being thrown into it – animal carcases and other food waste, human waste and so on until it became a cess pit. There have been calls for parts of the Fleet to be uncovered. Sounds great, but I’m not sure how they would do it. The river began in Hamsptead, where also the Westbourne River originates (I have walked the length of that one!). Both rivers join the River Thames. Do read this fascinating article about the River Fleet here. There are some great photos.

St Pancras Old Church stands on the right hand side of Midland Road. I decided to walk around the gardens (former graveyard) first and find the Hardy Tree. And there it was! The story behind this unique place is down to the railway. St Pancras was always looking to expand. They needed more land. To do that they encroached onto the graveyard. Thomas Hardy (yes, the Thomas Hardy, famous author and poet) was overseeing the removal graves for this purpose. He ended up with lots of left over headstones. What to do with them? Well, he had this idea of of placing them around one particular tree. They have sunk into the ground a bit, but they are still there. It is quite a sight and photos don’t do it justice.

However, this is not the end because there are famous people buried here. John Soane, architect and collector (see this link for his museum) has quite a large tomb with what looks like the first phone box on top!

This is also the burial place of Johann Christina Bach (youngest son of composser Johann Sebastian Bach) and Carl Friedrich Abel, and at one time Mary Wollestonecraft was buried here. Her remains have been removed to Bournemouth, but her headstone is still here, and people still come to leave offerings on top of the headstone. Mary was the author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She died just ten days after giving birth to her daughter Mary (Shelly) who went on to write Frankenstein.

St Pancras Old Church is a small Anglo Catholic Church. Basically, it’s as Catholic as you can get without actually being Catholic. It is the highest form of Anglican Church of England. This means the church is highly decorated with statues, and there is an altar to Our Lady of Walsingham. I loved the atmosphere here, I think because it is compact. The organist was playing and I sat down to listen and to make a short video. Before leaving I bought some postcards and a booklet.

If you cross the gardens to the far end (heading towards the bridge where the trains go over), you can take a short cut to Camley Street Natural Park. On the other side of the bridge, the gardens are just across the road. I came here some years ago with a friend, but it has all changed. Run by the London Wildlife Trust, they have given it an overhaul. There is a new centre with classrooms and cafe. A group of schoolchildren had not long been pond dipping, as their equipment was still out by the pond. They were now in the classroom. I walked the pathways. Staff were busy moving mulch from the front of the building to a plot near the back, so wheelbarrow loads of chippings were being wheeled along the narrow paths. It’s early in the season, so not much plant life about, though I found a group of snowdrops.

The park runs alongside Regent’s Canal. There has been building works going on here forever, it seems, around the station and Coal Drops Yard. They are still building. Before crossing over one of bridges to the busy side of the canal, I stopped and had lunch at the cafe in Camley Street Natural Park. Lovely food and great recycling!

Over the bridge there is Coal Drops Yard. This is the former warehouse site, and a train used to come in from the other side (you can still see the tracks if you know where to look). Now it’s all eating places and designer shops and businesses. However, on ground level there is an outdoor Curling venue where you can have a go at the sport that’s popular at the Winter Olympics.

If you are in the mood for a nice walk, there is the canal. But I was getting cold now and it was time to return home.

This is why I love London so much. There are so many places to seek out. London is not all theatres, Buckingham Palace, museums and art galleries. There are quiet spaces just a stone’s throw away from major rail stations, or a trip on the tube.

I must just mention the toilets at Kings Cross. They are some of the best rail station loos I’ve ever used, and they well deserve their award for the best station toilets. Well done. These things are important for travellers and make such a difference after some of the crappy (pun intended) toilets I’ve had to endure in the past.