St Pancras Gardens — Attraction in London

If Harry Potter is not your thing, and you want to spend an enjoyable and informative hour within a few minutes walk of St Pancras, a visit to the old church and its park is highly recommended. The church itself is probably more interesting to look at from the outside as the interior is rather drab. The current 1847 building restored the medieval church, although its origins can be traced back to Saxon and Roman times. The graveyard next door, which has been converted into a small park, is full of historic and cultural interest. Amongst the famous people buried or commemorated here are Johann Christian Bach (youngest son of JSB), Mary Wollstonecraft, the writer and advocate of women's rights, and John Soane who designed a splendid tomb for himself and his wife which was the inspiration for Giles Gilbert Scott for his iconic design of the British red telephone box. Coincidentally, he was the grandson of Sir George Gilbert Scott, who was the architect for the famous hotel at St Pancras station. The Hardy Tree, surrounded by old gravestones, is a testament to the time the novelist Thomas Hardy worked here in the 1860s, excavating parts of the churchyard and moving graves in order to accommodate the construction of the Midland Railway's new terminus. The green space here is dark, because of the shade of the tall trees, so it is not really a place to linger but it certainly has lots of significance and is well...

The ‘gardens’ and ‘graveyard’ are somewhat inseparable. In winter it looks a bit bare, but the seeds of spring are evident.

Enter either via the stairs to the church or the semi-steep road into the gardens. Seemingly recently re-tarmaced, there isn’t a clear distinction between road and path (which are wide enough for a vehicle). As it’s black, it seems a bit like walking on a road around trees.

However, as you go round the back of the church it becomes much more path-like, winding and you see more headstones.

The graves are surprising and leave you with questions: what/who is that odd block under a stone cover with a fence around it? Why are those grave stones so close together by the tree? What about those other ones in the corner that look like dominoes? Take those questions into the church and the displays on the left answer them all!

Sadly the big tree growing around the gravestones has fallen over and been surrounded with fencing - presumably as the council figures out how to safely and respectfully remove it and who pays.

There are also some funky trees to enjoy - how on earth did they grow like they were spirals? One even seems to be resting an arm on a tomb.

It’s worth 20 minutes of walking around and is -I’m sure- a lovely place for lunch in warmer weather. Much of the gardens is grave/tomb free, in case that worries you. Kids are most welcome, even school groups, all easily able to...

Looked up this place on maps as it looked close to the gasholder park. After a short walk, we reached this tranquil place. It apparently has seen a lot of changes due to the railway modernisation in the area over time. It's the resting place for quite a few famous personalities of the past and some of the graves are pretty impressive in their architecture and history they house. The pile of headstones surrounding the Hardy Tree, the Soane Mausoleum and the beautiful little church in the corner need special mention. The graves are pretty spaced out and not like what you see in Brompton cemetery. The garden is well maintained with benches along the walkway. The church is peaceful and we sat there for a while praying and admiring the architecture. You can write the name of a departed soul on a piece of paper for a prayer for them and light a candle. The garden is a good place for dog walkers and for people to sit among the majestic...