Kings Cross Kings Cross (called officially King's Cross, and formerly Kingsway) is a district in central London, in the London Borough of Camden, England, and part of the wider City of Westminster. It lies just to the north of the former village of Islington. Originally, the name referred to a small area of fields and footpaths at the junction of what are now the northern and eastern edges of Regent's Canal, where a road to Camden Town was established by a 1736 act of Parliament, leading to speculation that Charles II himself had travelled through this area. It gained its current name, or variants thereof, in the mid-18th century. Kings Cross has since been absorbed by the modern city of London, and today it is an area of major traffic and commerce in the City of Westminster and one of the major railway termini in London, served by three of the seven major London rail termini: King's Cross St. Pancras, Euston and St. Pancras International. Kings Cross was at the heart of the Kings Cross fire on 18 November 1987, which led to the creation of the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1988. Although the name persists in some street names, it is a misnomer; it is centred on the former goods yard and hump yard (loco shed) of St Pancras railway station, situated in what was originally known as "New" King's Cross and now forms a section of Camden Town. Names Kingsway was officially adopted as a name by the Kings Cross Action Committee which was founded in the 1970s. Their aim was to promote "a common name and identity for this area in order to reverse the neglect of the area". The official opening was at 2.30pm on 16 July 1978 by the then Deputy Prime Minister, Willie Whitelaw, MP for Northampton South. During that ceremony the name Kingsway was officially adopted for the area. However, the area has had numerous names and at times has been called "New Kings Cross", "King's Cross", "Kings Cross", "New Kings Cross", "The King's Cross Estate", "The King's Cross Works", "Kingscross", "King's Cross Station", "King's Cross Hump Yard" or "St Pancras Hump Yard". On 12 October 1999, it was officially named "King's Cross" by Camden Council, replacing "King's Way". History Early history An Act of Parliament passed in 1737, and entitled An Act for establishing a Road from the New Road to the London Docks at Wapping, mentioned this road as running "from a place called Pinchin-Hill, near Islington, and running through what is called King's-Way; down the middle of what is called Pinfold Street, the Great Pond way, then down Stamford Hill, then to the new road, and along the same to the quay; thence to the said London Docks." On 25 July 1762, the parish of St. Giles in the Fields was created, and the area became known as St. Giles Fields. It included the parishes of Islington and Kingsland, most of Clerkenwell and two streets in Southwark; the earliest recorded use of the name was in 1777. The Great Pond was the former Puddle Dock, an inlet on the River Lea; it became a dry dock in 1767 and is now an open green space. The area became the first civil parish under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and in 1876 the Camden Council was formed. The Islington and Kingsland Railway (now mostly subsumed within the Northern line) opened in 1872; in 1872 a new bridge was opened, replacing a series of iron bridges across the canal, which were prone to subsidence and needed continual maintenance. In 1885, new buildings were opened for King's Cross station. Two new streets, St. Pancras Road and Pancras Road were built in the early 1870s. The main London General Omnibus Company depot, with the Red Lion Hotel and the Royal Oak were built between 1877 and 1884, with the Royal Oak designed by Alfred Waterhouse. The station buildings and adjacent goods depot were replaced in the 1880s by another new station with the addition of two new goods sheds. 20th century In 1888 King's Cross was incorporated as a municipal borough; it became part of the County of London in 1889. Kings Cross has been the site of many railway accidents. Three of these have been the most severe, and form the basis of "London's railway disasters" or "London railway disasters": 1 January 1894: A gas leak in the main Northern Line Tube station caused a fire that claimed 70 lives. 18 November 1987: A faulty mains water pump in the former Loco Shed area at the former King's Cross TMD (present King's Cross Underground station) caused the worst rail accident to befall the United Kingdom outside the Mersey Tunnel and for many years the deadliest ever in the United Kingdom. 16 December 2005: Another faulty mains water pump in the same station area caused an electrical fire in a high-speed Eurostar train (E140) as it was arriving from Brussels. One passenger was injured. During the Second World War, the area around King's Cross station was a major military centre, and it remained a vital rail freight depot and marshalling yards. After the war, traffic was increasing, and in 1955 British Railways decided to extend the new suburban electric railway out to St Pancras and Kings Cross, opening them on 4 September. From 1972, Kings Cross was the site of the King's Cross fire. In June 1967, a major fire broke out in the basement and second floor of the King's Cross Power Station. 21st century In February 2015 the long-standing British Rail King's Cross station was replaced by King's Cross Thameslink station, which opened to passengers in May 2015. The former station is still used by the train operators and is currently being modified and extended with a brand new covered walkway called the 'Railway Bridge' linking it to the new station. The new station has been extended to seven platforms. Proposed redevelopment In 2015, plans to demolish the entire Kings Cross district and replace it with a new development were announced by Mayor Boris Johnson. Johnson claimed that the "stale, seedy and grey" design would give rise to new businesses and cultural developments. However, critics claimed that regeneration should focus on preserving the unique character of the area and its cultural significance, rather than replacing it with a single giant development. Controversy The regeneration has raised significant controversy over potential effects on King's Cross and its heritage. The destruction of significant historic structures is controversial for two reasons: firstly, the buildings are of little architectural merit and secondly, their significance is in part in their being part of the cultural and artistic history of the area, the destruction of which could be considered highly significant. King's Cross was recognised by English Heritage as being of national importance as early as 1949, and a number of listed buildings and structures within the area were placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. However, as recently as 1991, only 36 out of the total 6,571 buildings and structures in King's Cross were protected by listed status. In November 2004, after a series of consultations and legal challenges, English Heritage placed King's Cross on its register of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. The decision not only placed a statutory obligation on all future owners of listed properties to maintain the historic fabric of the building, but gave new powers to prevent demolition. English Heritage said that it would take court action against any developers that breached the act. A number of developers in the area opposed the demolition and many more were hesitant about the move. There is currently much local controversy about the building of housing on areas previously earmarked for conservation. The area has become so expensive for property developers that most potential demolition sites are simply demolished and the land simply stands empty. Development Since 2000, regeneration has proceeded according to the 'King's Cross Neighbourhood Development Framework' and its successor, 'Kings Cross Vision for the 21st Century'. This includes a pedestrianization of Kingsland Road, conversion of the bus station to retail and leisure use and the improvement of public spaces. A covered walkway was built to replace the busy level crossings on Gray's Inn Road and Pentonville Road. The King's Cross Development Corporation replaced the Camden Council and is the lead partner for the King's Cross Neighbourhood Team which coordinates development. In 2010, the area became the focus of a major programme of redevelopment, which began with the restoration of its Victorian pubs. Historic pubs From the 1980s, the area became home to many Victorian pubs and public houses, and a cultural revival of music hall and Victorian music hall venues. King's Cross has seen a great deal of cultural regeneration as a result. For example, in 1986 the Kings Arms on Chalk Farm Road re-opened as a live music pub, while The Salisbury pub in Islington re-opened as a music venue in 2014. King's Arms was an early 19th-century building, formerly known as the Old Ferryboat, and was once a stopping point for travellers on the coaching routes.